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L3Harris (LHX) to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (LHX - Free Report) is scheduled to release first-quarter 2020 results on May 5, before the opening bell.

The company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 3.64% in the last reported quarter. Moreover, the company’s four-quarter average positive earnings surprise was 5.28%.

Let’s take a detailed look at some factors that may have influenced the company’s performance in the first-quarter.

Factors at Play

Post the formation of L3Harris Technologies, through the merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corp, this will be the third-quarterly results for the combined company. As integration of these two industry stalwarts are going well ahead of plan, accretion from the combination is expected to have significantly boosted L3Harris’ operational performance in the first quarter.  

L3Harris Technologies Inc Price and EPS Surprise

L3Harris Technologies Inc Price and EPS Surprise

L3Harris Technologies Inc price-eps-surprise | L3Harris Technologies Inc Quote

At the onset of March 2020, L3Harris launched its new small satellite reflector antenna to help decrease the size, weight and overall time to produce small sats. We believe positive synergies from this innovation to have contributed to the company’s top line.

Further, revenues recognized from earlier defense contracts are also likely to have contributed to the company’s top line in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.   

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for L3Harris’ first-quarter revenues is pegged at $4.60 billion, indicating a massive 166% surgefrom the year-ago quarter reported figure.

With the integration procedure well underway, the company has been making notable progress on lowering cost, driving productivity and improving working capital performance as part of its normal operational excellence program. Such developments may have boosted the company’s earnings.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for L3Harris’ first-quarter earnings of $2.55 per share indicates growth of 20.9% from the year-ago quarter reported figure.

In February 2020, L3Harris declared a quarterly dividend growth of 13%. This indicates the solid financial position that this defense major enjoys and should get reflected in the upcoming results through its balance sheet figures.  

What the Zacks Model Says

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for L3Harris 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. But that’s not the case here.

L3Harris has an Earnings ESP of -39.41% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Upcoming Defense Releases

Here are some defense companies you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.

Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc. (SPR - Free Report) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2020 results on May 6. The company has an Earnings ESP of +18.35% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII - Free Report) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2020 results on May 7. The company has an Earnings ESP of +1.79% and a Zacks Rank #3.

A Recent Defense Release

Textron Inc. (TXT - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents by 23.9%.

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