Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2018 results.
Adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13 cents and increased 5% year over year. Revenues of $3.6 billion exceeded the consensus mark by $100 million and increased 6% year over year.
In the past year, shares of Aptiv have lost 22.3% compared with the Zacks S&P 500 Composite’s 5.1% decline.
Quarterly Numbers in Detail
Revenues in the Signal and Power Solutions segment totaled $2.6 billion, up 4% on a year-over-year basis and contributing 72% to total revenues. Advanced Safety and User Experience revenues of $1 billion improved 9% year over year and contributed 28% to total revenues.
Aptiv PLC Revenue (TTM)
Adjusted operating income of $430 million fell 4.4% year over year. Adjusted operating income margin of 11.8% contracted 130 basis points (bps) year over year.
Aptiv ended the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents balance of $567 million compared with $771 million in the previous quarter. Long-term debt was $4 billion compared with $4.1 billion in the prior quarter.
Total available liquidity at the end of the quarter was $2.6 billion compared with $3.1 billion at the end of the prior quarter. Net cash provided by operating activities was $757 million and capital expenditures were $185 million in the quarter.
Aptiv returned $335 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.
Q1 Guidance
Aptiv anticipates adjusted earnings to be between 97 cents and $1.02 per share, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.27. Net sales are expected in the range of $3.40-$3.50 billion, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.72 billion.
Adjusted operating income is expected in the range of $325-$345 million. Adjusted operating income margin is anticipated between 9.6-9.9%.
2019 Guidance
The company expects adjusted earnings in the range of $5.25-$5.45 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $5.45. Net sales are anticipated between $14.60 billion and $15.00 billion, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.14 billion.
Adjusted operating income is expected in the range of $1.72-$1.80 million. Adjusted operating income margin is anticipated between 11.8-12.0%.
Zacks Rank & Upcoming Releases
Aptiv currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A few better-ranked stocks in the broader Business Services sector are General Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:GFN) , Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE:OMC) and Paychex, Inc (NASDAQ:PAYX) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The long-term expected EPS (three to five years) growth rate for General Finance, Omnicom and Paychex is 11%, 6.9% and 8.8%, respectively.
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