As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q4. Today, we are looking at internet of things stocks, starting with PowerFleet (NASDAQ:PWFL).
Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) companies are buoyed by the secular trend of a more connected world. They often specialize in nascent areas such as hardware and services for factory automation, fleet tracking, or smart home technologies. Those who play their cards right can generate recurring subscription revenues by providing cloud-based software services, boosting their margins. On the other hand, if the technologies these companies have invested in don’t pan out, they may have to make costly pivots.
The 8 internet of things stocks we track reported a weak Q4. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 3.4% below.
Valuation multiples for many growth stocks have not yet reverted to their early 2021 highs, but the market was optimistic at the end of 2023 due to cooling inflation. This year has been a different story as mixed inflation signals have led to market volatility. Thankfully, internet of things stocks have been resilient with share prices up 6.7% on average since the latest earnings results.
PowerFleet (NASDAQ:PWFL) Having worked with some of the most notable companies in USPS and General Electric (NYSE:GE), PowerFleet (NASDAQ:PWFL) provides fleet and asset management systems and software for various industries.
PowerFleet reported revenues of $34.65 million, up 2.3% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a slower quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.
PowerFleet pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 59.5% since reporting and currently trades at $4.61.
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Best Q4: Rockwell Automation (NYSE:NYSE:ROK) One of the first companies to address industrial automation, Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) sells products that help customers extract more efficiency from their machinery.
Rockwell Automation reported revenues of $2.05 billion, down 8.4% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a decent quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue and earnings estimates.
The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 6% since reporting. It currently trades at $265.78.
Weakest Q4: Vontier (NYSE:VNT) A spin-off of a spin-off, Vontier (NYSE:VNT) provides electronic products and systems to the transportation, automotive, and manufacturing sectors.
Vontier reported revenues of $696.4 million, down 8.9% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 6.7%. It was a weak quarter for the company with revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations and a miss of analysts’ operating margin estimates.
Vontier had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 10.1% since the results and currently trades at $35.29.
AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Started from its humble beginnings in motor repair, AMETEK (NYSE:AME) manufactures electronic devices used in industries like aerospace, power, and healthcare.
AMETEK reported revenues of $1.73 billion, up 5.4% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 2.6%. More broadly, it was a weak quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and underwhelming earnings guidance for the full year.
The stock is down 2.3% since reporting and currently trades at $169.38.
Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) Playing a role in the construction of the Paris Grand, Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) offers geospatial devices and technology to the agriculture, construction, transportation, and logistics industries.
Trimble reported revenues of $870.8 million, down 12.4% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates.
Trimble pulled off the highest full-year guidance raise but had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 13.1% since reporting and currently trades at $56.35.
This content was originally published on Stock Story
