Stock Story -
Household products company Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) announced better-than-expected revenue in Q3 CY2024, with sales up 4.5% year on year to $773.7 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.97 per share was 9.2% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Spectrum Brands (SPB) Q3 CY2024 Highlights:
- Revenue: $773.7 million vs analyst estimates of $747.5 million (3.5% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.97 vs analyst expectations of $1.07 (9.2% miss)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $68.9 million vs analyst estimates of $78.5 million (12.2% miss)
- Gross Margin (GAAP): 37.2%, up from 32.7% in the same quarter last year
- Operating Margin: 2.8%, in line with the same quarter last year
- EBITDA Margin: 8.9%, down from 15.4% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow was $67.7 million, up from -$528.7 million in the same quarter last year
- Organic Revenue rose 4.8% year on year (-2.7% in the same quarter last year)
- Market Capitalization: $2.63 billion
Company OverviewA leader in multiple consumer product categories, Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) is a diversified company with a portfolio of trusted brands spanning home appliances, garden care, personal care, and pet care.
Household Products
Household products stocks are generally stable investments, as many of the industry's products are essential for a comfortable and functional living space. Recently, there's been a growing emphasis on eco-friendly and sustainable offerings, reflecting the evolving consumer preferences for environmentally conscious options. These trends can be double-edged swords that benefit companies who innovate quickly to take advantage of them and hurt companies that don't invest enough to meet consumers where they want to be with regards to trends.Sales Growth
A company’s long-term performance can give signals about its business quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years.Spectrum Brands carries some recognizable products but is a mid-sized consumer staples company. Its size could bring disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better brand awareness and economies of scale.
As you can see below, Spectrum Brands struggled to generate demand over the last three years. Its sales were flat, showing demand was soft. This is a poor baseline for our analysis.
This quarter, Spectrum Brands reported modest year-on-year revenue growth of 4.5% but beat Wall Street’s estimates by 3.5%.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to remain flat over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last three years. While this projection indicates its newer products will catalyze better performance, it is still below average for the sector.
Organic Revenue Growth
When analyzing revenue growth, we care most about organic revenue growth. This metric captures a business’s performance excluding the impacts of foreign currency fluctuations and one-time events such as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.Spectrum Brands’s demand has been falling over the last eight quarters, and on average, its organic sales have declined by 3.3% year on year.
In the latest quarter, Spectrum Brands’s organic sales rose by 4.8% year on year. This growth was a well-appreciated turnaround from its historical levels, showing the business is regaining momentum.