What happened
Shares of Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS), an electronic manufacturing services company, were tumbling Thursday morning after the company reported mixed results for its fiscal first quarter and management issued guidance that was below analysts' expectations.
As of 11:25 a.m. ET, the tech stock was down by 17.2%.
So what
For its fiscal 2023 Q1, which ended Dec. 31, Plexus reported non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings of $1.49 per share, which was slightly ahead of Wall Street's consensus estimate of $1.47 per share.
But while the company's sales rose by about 33% from the year-ago quarter to $1.09 billion, that result came up short of analysts' consensus estimate of $1.11 billion.
Those mixed results didn't exactly inspire confidence, and investors became even more pessimistic when they caught a glimpse of the company's guidance.
Management forecast that its fiscal second-quarter earnings will be $1.15 per share (at the midpoint of the guidance range), which is far below Wall Street's consensus estimate of $1.40 per share.
Additionally, the company is expecting sales to be about $1 billion. Analysts' average estimate was $1.1 billion for the quarter.
Now what
Plexus CEO Todd Kelsey said in a press release that the company's second-quarter guidance "reflects a continuation of the near-term demand dynamics that affected our fiscal first quarter, our typical seasonal payroll cost increases as well as a sequential increase in interest and income tax expense."
But he also said that "ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties" would affect the company until at least the second half of 2023.
However, based on the company's stock price drop Thursday morning, it appears that some investors are less optimistic about Plexus' immediate future.
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Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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