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Will Modest Top-Line Growth Buoy Motorola (MSI) Q3 Earnings?

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Motorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter 2023 results on Nov 2, after the closing bell. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 5.6%. It pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.6%, on average.

The Chicago, IL-based company is expected to have recorded year-over-year higher revenues on the back of growth in both segments — Products and Systems Integration, and Services and Software. It benefits from the increasing demand for its mission-critical technologies in North America and globally.

Factors at Play

During the quarter, Motorola announced that it won a prime contract for an undisclosed amount from the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, to provide VB400 body-worn cameras for the safety and security of its police officers. Designed to capture high-quality video from the wearer’s viewpoint with an intuitive recording function, it delivers transparency with an extended battery life of up to 12 hours of operation. In addition to live streaming facilities for enhanced situational awareness, the integration with Bluetooth sensors and beacons facilitates the automated recording functionality. This is likely to have generated incremental revenues during the quarter.

In third-quarter 2023, Motorola launched WAVE PTX in Indonesia to connect different work teams to reliable voice and data communication. WAVE PTX is an innovative and flexible solution that provides nationwide coverage independent of network technology and is available via broadband subscription. The company also complemented the service by offering new TLK 100 portable and TLK 150 mobile two-way radios to facilitate interoperability with MOTOTRBO two-way radio systems.

During the to-be-reported quarter, Motorola also unveiled the CommandCentral Router, one of the industry’s first cloud-based 9-1-1 call routing platforms. It offers a traditional data center-based call routing solution via a multi-cloud software-as-a-service offering, delivering scalability and mission-critical performance. These are likely to be reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

Riding on such state-of-the-art products, Motorola expects to record strong demand across video security and services, land mobile radio products and related software while benefiting from a solid foundation. These systems drive the demand for additional device sales and promote software upgrades and infrastructure expansion. The comprehensive suite of services ensures continuity and reduces risks related to critical communications operations. These developments are expected to have positively impacted its performance in the quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Products and Systems Integration segment’s revenues is pegged at $1,580 million. The figure indicates a rise from $1,529 million recorded in the year-ago quarter. Our estimate for revenues from this segment stands at $1,552, implying 1.5% year-over-year growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Services and Software segment’s revenues stands at $937 million, up from $844 million recorded in the year-earlier quarter. Our estimate for revenues from this segment stands at $962.8, suggesting 14.1% year-over-year growth.  

For the September quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2,516 million, which indicates growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of $2,373 million. The consensus estimate for adjusted earnings per share stands at $3.02, which suggests an increase from $3.00, driven by top-line growth.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Motorola in the third quarter. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. This is perfectly the case here.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is +0.47% with the former pegged at $3.03 and the latter at $3.02. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Motorola Solutions, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Motorola Solutions, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Motorola Solutions, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Motorola Solutions, Inc. Quote

Zacks Rank: Motorola carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are some other companies you may want to consider, as our model shows that these, too, have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season:

The Earnings ESP for Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (SIMO - Free Report) is +3.00% and it carries a Zacks Rank of 2. The company is scheduled to report quarterly numbers on Nov 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Earnings ESP for Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS - Free Report) is +1.96% and it carries a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is scheduled to report quarterly numbers on Nov 1.

The Earnings ESP for NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) is +6.93% and it sports a Zacks Rank of 1. The company is scheduled to report quarterly numbers on Nov 21.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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