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Key Factors to Note Ahead of Luminar's (LAZR) Q1 Earnings
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Luminar Technologies, Inc. (LAZR - Free Report) is slated to release first-quarter 2021 results on May 13, after the closing bell. This will be the second time that the lidar manufacturer would release quarterly numbers as a public company, post its NASDAQ debut on Dec 3, 2020, upon completion of merger with a special purpose acquisition company, Gores Metropoulos, Inc.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 8 cents per share for the first quarter has widened by two cents over the past 30 days. The consensus mark for first-quarter revenues is pegged at $5 million.
Factors at Play
Luminar’s proprietary software designed to unlock full lidar capabilities enhances automakers’ ability to deliver high-speed highway autonomy in commercial series production scale and is likely to have positively impacted the firm’s first-quarter performance. The company’s contracts with Daimler AG , Intel Corp.’s (INTC - Free Report) Mobileye unit, Volvo Group and others are likely to have buoyed revenues during the to-be-reported quarter.
While the above-mentioned factors seem to have aided the firm’s quarterly earnings, COVID-related disruptions and rising R&D costs might have played spoilsports. While the company is still in the nascent stage, high technology and product development expenses are likely to have dented margins. The company expects gross cash spend (operating cash flow less capital expenditures) of approximately $140 million in 2021 and has a capex target of approximately $10-15 million for the year, with the revenue forecast being as low as $25-$30 million. This is likely to have eroded the company’s margins during the quarter under discussion.
Moreover, Luminar is not expected to be selling its lidar systems at scale until Volvo starts accelerating its electric vehicle production in 2022. The company is yet to begin commercial production and might face hindrances as it ramps up. Given the company’s lack of a mass manufacturing track record, there is a lot of ambiguity that surrounds its future. This is expected to have adversely impacted the company’s quarterly performance.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Luminar this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Earnings ESP: Luminar, closest peer of which is Velodyne Lidar , has an Earnings ESP of -25%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate for loss per share is pegged two cents higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Zacks Rank: It carries a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) currently.
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Key Factors to Note Ahead of Luminar's (LAZR) Q1 Earnings
Luminar Technologies, Inc. (LAZR - Free Report) is slated to release first-quarter 2021 results on May 13, after the closing bell. This will be the second time that the lidar manufacturer would release quarterly numbers as a public company, post its NASDAQ debut on Dec 3, 2020, upon completion of merger with a special purpose acquisition company, Gores Metropoulos, Inc.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 8 cents per share for the first quarter has widened by two cents over the past 30 days. The consensus mark for first-quarter revenues is pegged at $5 million.
Factors at Play
Luminar’s proprietary software designed to unlock full lidar capabilities enhances automakers’ ability to deliver high-speed highway autonomy in commercial series production scale and is likely to have positively impacted the firm’s first-quarter performance. The company’s contracts with Daimler AG , Intel Corp.’s (INTC - Free Report) Mobileye unit, Volvo Group and others are likely to have buoyed revenues during the to-be-reported quarter.
While the above-mentioned factors seem to have aided the firm’s quarterly earnings, COVID-related disruptions and rising R&D costs might have played spoilsports. While the company is still in the nascent stage, high technology and product development expenses are likely to have dented margins. The company expects gross cash spend (operating cash flow less capital expenditures) of approximately $140 million in 2021 and has a capex target of approximately $10-15 million for the year, with the revenue forecast being as low as $25-$30 million. This is likely to have eroded the company’s margins during the quarter under discussion.
Moreover, Luminar is not expected to be selling its lidar systems at scale until Volvo starts accelerating its electric vehicle production in 2022. The company is yet to begin commercial production and might face hindrances as it ramps up. Given the company’s lack of a mass manufacturing track record, there is a lot of ambiguity that surrounds its future. This is expected to have adversely impacted the company’s quarterly performance.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Luminar this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Earnings ESP: Luminar, closest peer of which is Velodyne Lidar , has an Earnings ESP of -25%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate for loss per share is pegged two cents higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Zacks Rank: It carries a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) currently.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 best buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2021?
Last year's 2020 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +386.8%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.
Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021 today >>