By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of CDW Corp. (NASDAQ:CDW) are down about 5.5% in pre-market Wednesday after the company announced preliminary Q1 results.
The IT solutions provider expects to report net sales of $5.1 billion, which is below the Street at $5.56B.
"The first quarter was marked by a period of intensifying economic uncertainty that led our customers to spend more cautiously and prioritize mission critical initiatives," said Christine A. Leahy, chair, president and chief executive officer, CDW. "This demand contraction resulted in first-quarter performance below our expectations."
"Volume declines were most acute with our largest commercial customers and across transactional products. Solutions were more resilient, but performance also came in below our expectations. While these results were disappointing, the team executed well in a rapidly changing environment."
On the guidance front, the company said it expects the U.S. IT market to "decline at a high single-digit rate in 2023." The guidance for net sales rising 200-300 basis points in constant currency is reaffirmed.
"We now look for full-year 2023 non-GAAP earnings per share on a diluted basis to be modestly below full-year 2022," said Albert J. Miralles, chief financial officer, CDW.
Credit Suisse analysts reiterated an Outperform rating on CDW shares and cut the price target to $195 per share, from the prior $230.
"We think updated guidance will fairly de-risk 2023 estimates and continue to believe CDW's strong execution and customer relationships warrant a premium. However, we expect the stock to be weak until signs of improving end demand," the analysts said in a note.
Stifel analysts also reiterated a Buy rating as he remains positive on the CDW story. The new price target is $205 (down from $215).
"[We see] see any weakness in shares as representing a good entry point for a best-in-class company that should continue to outgrow the IT market," the analysts said.