Can Higher Climate Revenues Buoy Ingersoll (IR) Q1 Earnings?

Industrial goods manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand Plc (NYSE:IR) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2018 financial results before the opening bell on Apr 25. The company is likely to report higher revenues in the quarter in both the operating segments due to healthy growth dynamics.

Whether this could result in higher earnings for the quarter remains to be seen.

Top-Line Expansion

Ingersoll is focusing on improving the efficiencies and capabilities of products and services within its core businesses. The company is likely to achieve steady improvement in operating profitability with new product developments, investments in IT platform and enhancement of channel services footprint and product management capabilities.

The geographic and industrial diversity coupled with a large installed product base provide ample growth opportunities within service, spare parts and replacement revenue streams. Additionally, the company’s complementary portfolio of products and services is likely to aid it in strengthening the market position and achieving high productivity.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues from the Climate Solutions segment, which accounts for the lion’s share of total revenues, is currently pegged at $2,457 million, up from $2,324 million reported in first-quarter 2017. Revenues from Industrial Technologies segment are expected to be $717 million compared with $677 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Consequently, total revenues for the quarter are likely to be $3,161 million, up from $3,001 million reported in the year-earlier quarter.

Other Key Factors

A disciplined capital allocation, strong and flexible balance sheet, robust operating platform and an efficient management team will likely drive net asset value and dividend growth for Ingersoll. Operating income for Industrial Technologies and Climate Solutions segments in the quarter are expected to be $66 million and $249 million, respectively, compared with the corresponding tallies of $66 million and $217 million in the prior-year quarter.

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Ingersoll is likely to beat earnings this quarter as it does not possess the key components. A stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. This is not the case here as you will see below:

Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is -0.69%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Ingersoll has a Zacks Rank #3, which when combined with a negative ESP, makes surprise prediction difficult.

Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing a negative estimate revisions momentum.

Stocks to Consider

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

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) has an Earnings ESP of +0.49% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI) has an Earnings ESP of +5.63% and a Zacks Rank #1.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has an Earnings ESP of +4.07% and a Zacks Rank #2.

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