Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q1 now behind us, let’s have a look at Corning (NYSE:GLW) and its peers.
Like many equipment and component manufacturers, electronic components companies are buoyed by secular trends such as connectivity and industrial automation. More specific pockets of strong demand include data centers and telecommunications, which can benefit companies whose optical and transceiver offerings fit those markets. But like the broader industrials sector, these companies are also at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending, for example, can greatly impact these companies’ volumes.
The 10 electronic components stocks we track reported a mixed Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 0.8%. while next quarter's revenue guidance was in line with consensus. Inflation progressed towards the Fed's 2% goal at the end of 2023, leading to strong stock market performance. The start of 2024 has been a bumpier ride, as the market switches between optimism and pessimism around rate cuts due to mixed inflation data, but electronic components stocks have shown resilience, with share prices up 9.4% on average since the previous earnings results.
Corning (NYSE:GLW) Supplying windows for some of the United States’s earliest spacecraft, Corning (NYSE:GLW) provides glass and other electronic components for the consumer electronics, telecommunications, automotive, and healthcare industries.
Corning reported revenues of $3.26 billion, down 3.2% year on year, topping analysts' expectations by 4.6%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' revenue estimates and a decent beat of analysts' earnings estimates.
Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and chief executive officer, said, “Our first-quarter results were at the high end of our guidance. Importantly, we’re seeing encouraging signs of improving market conditions. We continue to expect that the first quarter will be the low quarter for the year.”
Corning achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. The stock is up 22.9% since the results and currently trades at $39.09.
Is now the time to buy Corning? Find out by reading the original article on StockStory, it's free.
Best Q1: Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) Founded by 26-year-old Elliot Bernstein during the electronics boom after WW2, Bel Fuse (NASDAQGS:BELF.A) provides electronic systems and devices to the telecommunications, networking, transportation, and industrial sectors.
Bel Fuse reported revenues of $128.1 million, down 25.7% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 0.4%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' earnings and operating margin estimates.
Bel Fuse had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 13.2% since the results and currently trades at $80.91.
Weakest Q1: Advanced Energy (NASDAQ:AEIS) Pioneering technologies for radio frequency power delivery, Advanced Energy (NASDAQGS:AEIS) provides power supplies, thermal management systems, and measurement and control instruments for various manufacturing processes.
Advanced Energy reported revenues of $327.5 million, down 23% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 6.9%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' operating margin and earnings estimates.
Advanced Energy had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The stock is up 18% since the results and currently trades at $113.17.
nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Founded by a former CEO and Harvard-educated entrepreneur Scott Keeneyn, nLIGHT (NASDAQGS:LASR) offers semiconductor and fiber lasers to the industrial, aerospace & defense, and medical sectors.
nLIGHT reported revenues of $44.53 million, down 17.7% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' earnings estimates.
The stock is down 5.6% since the results and currently trades at $10.93.
Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Originally a pioneer in the laser scanning industry during the late 1960s, Novanta (NASDAQGS:NOVT) offers medicine and manufacturing technology to the medical, life sciences, and manufacturing industries.
Novanta reported revenues of $230.9 million, up 5.4% year on year, surpassing analysts' expectations by 1.3%. It was a decent quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' earnings estimates but a miss of analysts' operating margin estimates.
The stock is up 1.3% since the results and currently trades at $163.11.
