Itron Inc ITRI reported non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $1.84 for third-quarter 2024, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 62.8%. The company reported earnings of 98 cents in the prior-year quarter.
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Revenues were $615 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.2%. The top line grew 10% year over year, exceeding the high end of the company’s guided range. The uptick is driven by growing demand for Itron’s solutions in the energy and water sectors and the solid execution of its team.
Product revenues were $538.3 million (87.5% of total revenues), up 12% year over year. Service revenues totaled $77.2 million (12.5%), down 4%.
Itron, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Itron, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Itron, Inc. Quote
Itron’s bookings were $487 million and its backlog amounted to $4 billion at the end of the reported quarter.
In response to the better-than-anticipated performance, shares jumped 7.6% and closed the trading session at $111.76 on Oct. 31. In the past year, shares have surged 74.4% compared with the sub-industry’s growth of 22.9%.
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Segments in Detail
Device Solutions: Revenues generated from this segment were $122.7 million (19.9% of total revenues), up 11% (up 10% at constant currency) from the year-ago quarter due to smart water and electric demand. Our estimate was pegged at $111.9 million.
Networked Solutions: Revenues of $416.7 (67.7%) million grew 8% year over year, supported by new initiatives and ongoing deployments. We suggested the metric to be $410.7 million.
Outcomes: Revenues of $76 million (12.4%) improved 17% (16% in cc) on a year-over-year basis, driven by a rise in recurring revenues, services and software. Our projection was $70.7 million.
Operating Details
Itron’s gross margin was 34.1%, which expanded 70 basis points on a year-over-year basis. This was due to improved operational efficiencies.
Non-GAAP operating expenses of $130.6 million inched up 1.9% year over year due to higher sales and general and administrative costs.
Non-GAAP operating income was $79 million compared with $59 million in the year-ago quarter. The upside was driven by higher gross profit and revenues.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flows
As of Sept. 30, cash and cash equivalents totaled $982.5 million, up from $920.6 million as of June 30, 2024.
As of Sept. 30, net long-term debt was $1.24 billion, the same as on June 30, 2024.
Itron generated $65 million of cash from operations in the reported quarter compared with $34 million in the prior-year quarter.
In the third quarter, the free cash flow reached $59 million, up from $28 million in the previous year's quarter, driven by both higher earnings and improved operational efficiency.
Outlook Raised
For the fourth quarter of 2024, ITRI expects revenues to be between $600 million and $610 million.
Non-GAAP EPS is anticipated to be in the range of $1.00-$1.10.
Strong demand trends, effective operational performance and the schedule of customer shipments led to an increase in revenue guidance for full-year 2024. Management now projects revenues to be between $2.428 billion and $2.438 billion compared with guidance of $2.385 to $2.415 billion given in July 2024.
Higher revenues are expected to boost earnings as well. Non-GAAP EPS is currently estimated in the $5.28-$5.38 band compared with $4.45-$4.65 projected in July 2024.
ITRI’s Zacks Rank
Currently, Itron carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1(Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
Performance of Other Companies
Iridium Communications IRDM reported EPS of 21 cents for the third quarter of 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5%. The company incurred a loss of 1 cent per share in the prior-year quarter.
Shares of IRDM have lost 20.4% in the past year.
Seagate Technology Holdings STX reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings of $1.58 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.8% and coming toward the high end of management’s guidance of $1.40 per share (+/- 20 cents). The company reported a non-GAAP loss of 22 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.
Shares of STX have gained 46.1% in the past year.
Western Digital Corporation WDC reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings of $1.78 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The company incurred a loss of $1.76 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Shares of WDC have gained 66.9% in the past year.
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Itron, Inc. (ITRI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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