Auto Stock Roundup: PACCAR, Harley, Autoliv, Johnson Controls & Meritor Beat On Earnings

The earnings season is in full swing. Last week saw a number of companies from the Auto sector coming up with their quarterly numbers.

These companies include PACCAR Inc. (NASDAQ:PCAR) , Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) , Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) , Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) and Meritor, Inc. (NYSE:MTOR) . Each of these companies reported better-than-expected earnings and revenues during the quarter.

Importantly, earnings of each of these companies grew on a year-over-year basis. This makes it an excellent show by the auto companies in the past week. However, these companies have provided a mixed outlook for 2018.

(Read the previous roundup here: Auto Stock Roundup for Jan 25, 2018)

Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories

1. PACCAR's fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings came in at $1.18 per share, up from 82 cents registered in the year-ago quarter. Earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12. Results benefited from top quality products and services, and substantial market share in the United States and Canada.

During the quarter, PACCAR generated consolidated net sales and revenues of $5.45 billion. Its revenues from the Truck, Parts and Other segment came in at $5.12 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues was $4.8 billion.

For 2017, adjusted earnings were $4.26 per share, up from $3.85 registered in 2016. Earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.19.

In 2017, the company reported record revenues of $19.5 billion, reflecting an increase of 14% from 2016 (read more: PACCAR Drives Past Q4 Earnings Estimates, View Upbeat).

PACCAR has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1(Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

2. Harley-Davidson reported adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share in fourth-quarter fiscal 2017, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents. Earnings in the year-ago quarter were 27 cents.

Net income decreased to $8.3 million from $47.2 million, registered a year ago.

Motorcycle and related products revenues increased to $1.05 billion in the reported quarter compared with $933 million in the prior-year quarter. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.01 billion. The company also logged consolidated revenues of $1.23 billion improving from $1.11 billion in the year-ago period.

Operating income increased to $101.5 million from $69.4 million in the year-ago period (read more: Harley-Davidson Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Up Y/Y).

Harley-Davidson has a Zacks Rank #3.

3. Autoliv reported adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share in fourth-quarter 2017, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74. Also, the bottom line came in 18.7% higher than the prior-year quarter figure.

During the quarter, Autoliv reported net sales of $2.73 billion, reflecting an increase of 4.8% year over year. Also, the top line came in higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.69 billion.

Operating income plunged 94.7% to $12.6 million. Adjusted operating margin was 9.6% in the reported quarter, higher than the prior-year quarter figure of 9.3%.

For full-year 2017, adjusted earnings came in at $6.58 per share, decreasing 2.5% from 2016. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for adjusted earnings for 2017 was $6.25 per share. During the year, Autoliv reported net sales of $10.4 billion, reflecting an increase of 3.1% from the 2016 figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 net sales was $10.4 billion (read more: Autoliv Q4 Earnings Breeze Past Estimates, Up Y/Y).

Autoliv has a Zacks Rank #3.

4. Johnson Controls reported adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share in first-quarter fiscal 2018, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents per share. Moreover, earnings increased 2% from 53 cents per share registered in first-quarter fiscal 2017.

Johnson Controls reported revenues of $7.44 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.19 billion. Adjusted revenues in first-quarter 2017 came in at $7.10 billion.

Cost of sales increased to $5.27 billion from $4.97 billion in the year-ago quarter. Gross profit increased to $2.17 billion from $2.11 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Selling, general and administrative expenses in fiscal first quarter totaled $1.42 billion, decreasing from the prior-year quarter figure of $1.57 billion (read more: Johnson Controls Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates).

5. Meritor registered adjusted earnings of 62 cents per share in first-quarter fiscal 2018 (ended Dec 31, 2017), comfortably surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents. The year-ago figure was 25 cents per share.

Adjusted income from continuing operations was $55 million compared with $22 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2017.

Revenues increased 29% year over year to $903 million. The top line also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $826.3 million.

Meritor’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) increased to $99 million from $64 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 11% compared with 9.2% in the prior-year quarter. Both adjusted EBITDA and EBITDA margin increased on a year-over-year basis, driven by high revenue growth and positive impact of changes to the company's retiree medicals.

Meritor has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Performance

Last week, each of these stocks reported a decline, with the only exception being Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), which reported an increase of 2.4% in the past week. The maximum decline was reported by Harley-Davidson.

In the last six months, each of these stocks moved up. The maximum rise was witnessed by AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), Inc. and minimum increase was reported by Advance Auto Parts, Inc.

What’s Next in the Auto Space?

Watch out for the earnings releases and usual news releases of auto companies over the next week.

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