Eaton's (ETN) Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Miss

Eaton Corporation ETN reported second-quarter 2019 earnings of $1.53 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The reported earnings were at the higher end of management’s guided range of $1.45-$1.55 per share. Moreover, the bottom line marked a 10% improvement from the year-ago level.    

Revenues

Total revenues in the quarter came in at $5,533 million, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,648 million by 2%. However, quarterly revenues were 0.8% higher than the year-ago quarter.

The year-over-year revenue increase, which includes 2.5% organic sales growth, was partially offset by a 1.5% negative impact from currency translation.

Eaton Corporation, PLC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Eaton Corporation, PLC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Eaton Corporation, PLC price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Eaton Corporation, PLC Quote

Segment Details

Electrical Products’ total second-quarter sales were $1,849 million, up 2.4% from the year-ago level. Although organic sales were up 4% from the prior-year quarter, the metric was negatively impacted by 2% due to currency translation. Operating income was $361 million, up 8.1% year over year.

Electrical Systems and Services’ total sales were $1,582 million, up 4.6% from the year-ago quarter. While organic sales were up 5% from the year-ago quarter, the metric was negatively impacted by 1% due to currency translation. Notably, the acquisition of Ulusoy added 1% to sales. Operating income in the quarter was $275 million, up 21.1% year over year.

Hydraulics total sales were $698 million, down 3.5% from the year-ago quarter. Organic sales, flat year over year, were negatively impacted by 3% due to currency translation. Operating income in the quarter was $80 million, down 20.8% year over year.

Aerospace total sales were $517 million, up 11.7% from the year-ago quarter due to 13% organic sales growth. Additionally, operating income in the quarter was $127 million, up 41.1% year over year.

Vehicle total sales were $803 million, down 10.7% from the year-ago quarter, owing to a 9% decline in organic sales and 2% negative currency translation. Moreover, operating income in the quarter was $136 million, down 18.1% year over year.

eMobility segment’s total sales were $84 million, up 1.2% from the year-ago quarter. Organic sales, up 2% from the prior-year level, were negatively impacted by 1% due to currency translation. Operating income in the quarter was $7 million, down 50% year over year, primarily due to higher spending on research and development activities.

Quarterly Highlights

Segment margins in the reported quarter were 17.9%, up 90 basis points (bps) from the year-ago level.

Cost of products sold in the reported quarter was $3,697 million, up 0.7% from the year-ago figure.

Selling and administrative expenses were $907 million, up 0.7% from the year-ago quarter.

The company’s research and development expenses in the second quarter were $151 million, up 4.1% from the prior-year period. Interest expenses of $63 million were down 7.3% from the prior-year quarter.

Orders in Electrical Products, Electrical Systems and Services, and Aerospace were up 1%, 3% and 15% year over year, respectively. On the contrary, Hydraulics’ orders were down 8% year over year due to weakness in the global mobile equipment market.

The company repurchased shares worth $260 million year to date.

Financial Update

Eaton’s cash & cash equivalents were $412 million as of Jun 30, 2019 compared with $283 million on Dec 31, 2018.

As of Jun 30, 2019, long-term debt of the company was $8,079 million, up marginally from $6,768 million on Dec 31, 2018.

Guidance

Third-quarter 2019 earnings per share are expected between $1.50 and $1.60.

The company now expects 2019 earnings within $5.77-$5.97, up from the prior guided range of $5.72-$6.02 per share. Segment operating margin in 2019 is expected within 17.1-17.5%.

Eaton has plans to repurchase shares worth $600 million in 2019.

The company expects organic revenues to improve 3% in 2019, down 100 bps from the prior expectation.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Eaton has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Upcoming Releases

Emerson Electric Co. EMR is slated to announce third-quarter fiscal 2019 earnings on Aug 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is pegged at 94 cents.

Regal Beloit Corporation RBC is slated to announce second-quarter 2019 earnings on Aug 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter to be reported is pegged at $1.63.

Enersys ENS is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2020 earnings on Aug 8. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $1.32.

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