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Agilent (A) Surpasses Earnings and Revenue Estimates in Q1
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Agilent Technologies’ (A - Free Report) fiscal first-quarter 2019 earnings of 76 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. The bottom line also increased 15.2% year over year.
Fiscal first-quarter 2019 revenues of $1.28 billion increased 6% year over year. The reported revenues were within management’s guided range of $1.265-$1.280 billion and also outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.271 billion.
The year-over-year revenue growth was supported by notable improvement across all its product lines and regions.
Coming to share price performance, the stock has gained 6.8% in the past year compared with its industry’s growth of 2%.
Revenues by Segment
Agilent has three reporting segments — Life Sciences & Applied Markets Group (LSAG), Agilent Cross Lab Group (ACG), and Diagnostics and Genomics Group (DGG).
In the reported quarter, LSAG was the largest contributor to total revenues. The segment accounted for $607 million or 47% of the total revenues, reflecting an increase of 2% from the prior-year quarter. This was driven by strength across all major end markets, platforms and regions.
Revenues from ACG came in at $442 million or 34% of its total revenues, reflecting an increase of 8% year over year. Both services and consumables recorded growth across all geographical regions.
Revenues from DGG came in at $235 million, accounting for the remaining 19% of the total revenues. The segment was up 13% from the year-ago quarter, led by growth in pharma, along with strength in clinical and diagnostics end markets.
Operating Results
Gross margin in the quarter was 55.1%, down 20 basis points (bps) year over year. The decrease was due to an unfavorable product mix.
Operating expenses (research &development as well as selling, general & administrative) were $457 million, 3.6% higher than the year-ago quarter.
As a result, adjusted operating margin was 19.5%, up 60 bps year over year.
Balance Sheet
At the end of the fiscal first quarter, inventories totaled $653 million, reflecting an increase from $638 million in the prior-year period. Agilent’s long-term debt was $1.8 billion at the end of the quarter. Cash and cash equivalents were $2.1 billion compared with $2.2 billion in fiscal fourth-quarter 2018.
In the reported quarter, the company paid $52 million in dividends.
Guidance
Agilent provided guidance for fiscal second quarter and raised the same for fiscal 2019.
The company expects revenues between $1.255 billion and $1.270 billion, and earnings per share in the range of 70-72 cents for the fiscal second quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $1.27 billion for revenues and 72 cents for earnings per share.
For fiscal 2019, Agilent now projects revenues in the range of $5.15-$5.19 billion versus previous guidance of $5.13-$5.17 billion. Non-GAAP earnings are expected within $3.03-$3.07 versus previous guided range of $3-$3.05per share.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at $3.04 per share and that of revenues is $5.17 billion.
Agilent Technologies, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Long-term earnings growth rate for Expedia, AMETEK and Inphi is projected to be 13.4%, 9.6% and 18.5%, respectively.
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Agilent (A) Surpasses Earnings and Revenue Estimates in Q1
Agilent Technologies’ (A - Free Report) fiscal first-quarter 2019 earnings of 76 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. The bottom line also increased 15.2% year over year.
Fiscal first-quarter 2019 revenues of $1.28 billion increased 6% year over year. The reported revenues were within management’s guided range of $1.265-$1.280 billion and also outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.271 billion.
The year-over-year revenue growth was supported by notable improvement across all its product lines and regions.
Coming to share price performance, the stock has gained 6.8% in the past year compared with its industry’s growth of 2%.
Revenues by Segment
Agilent has three reporting segments — Life Sciences & Applied Markets Group (LSAG), Agilent Cross Lab Group (ACG), and Diagnostics and Genomics Group (DGG).
In the reported quarter, LSAG was the largest contributor to total revenues. The segment accounted for $607 million or 47% of the total revenues, reflecting an increase of 2% from the prior-year quarter. This was driven by strength across all major end markets, platforms and regions.
Revenues from ACG came in at $442 million or 34% of its total revenues, reflecting an increase of 8% year over year. Both services and consumables recorded growth across all geographical regions.
Revenues from DGG came in at $235 million, accounting for the remaining 19% of the total revenues. The segment was up 13% from the year-ago quarter, led by growth in pharma, along with strength in clinical and diagnostics end markets.
Operating Results
Gross margin in the quarter was 55.1%, down 20 basis points (bps) year over year. The decrease was due to an unfavorable product mix.
Operating expenses (research &development as well as selling, general & administrative) were $457 million, 3.6% higher than the year-ago quarter.
As a result, adjusted operating margin was 19.5%, up 60 bps year over year.
Balance Sheet
At the end of the fiscal first quarter, inventories totaled $653 million, reflecting an increase from $638 million in the prior-year period. Agilent’s long-term debt was $1.8 billion at the end of the quarter. Cash and cash equivalents were $2.1 billion compared with $2.2 billion in fiscal fourth-quarter 2018.
In the reported quarter, the company paid $52 million in dividends.
Guidance
Agilent provided guidance for fiscal second quarter and raised the same for fiscal 2019.
The company expects revenues between $1.255 billion and $1.270 billion, and earnings per share in the range of 70-72 cents for the fiscal second quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $1.27 billion for revenues and 72 cents for earnings per share.
For fiscal 2019, Agilent now projects revenues in the range of $5.15-$5.19 billion versus previous guidance of $5.13-$5.17 billion. Non-GAAP earnings are expected within $3.03-$3.07 versus previous guided range of $3-$3.05per share.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at $3.04 per share and that of revenues is $5.17 billion.
Agilent Technologies, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Agilent Technologies, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Agilent Technologies, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Currently, Agilent has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Expedia Group, Inc. (EXPE - Free Report) , AMETEK, Inc. (AME - Free Report) and Inphi Corporation , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Long-term earnings growth rate for Expedia, AMETEK and Inphi is projected to be 13.4%, 9.6% and 18.5%, respectively.
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Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
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