Ericsson's Energy Alliance For Sustainable Network Evolution

The partnership will merge Vertiv's faculties in power, thermal and infrastructure site management solutions with NorthStar's leadership in battery and energy storage solutions and incorporate it into the Ericsson Radio Site System.

The collaboration will build on the combined global supply and service delivery footprints and local sales support of the companies. Also, the speed and flexibility, distinctive product competence along with access to engineering strengths of the members will raise competitiveness as well as cost efficiency in the combined portfolio.

The companies intend to establish a competitive ecosystem and management interface, which will boost the market share of the Enclosure and Power parts of Ericsson’s portfolio.

The alliance aims to build equipment which will reduce energy consumption, increase the use of renewable and hybrid energy resources and lower carbon footprint. They will also optimize energy and climate systems to use the minimum required energy to power an electronic trusted environment for Ericsson Radio System products. This will deliver environmental as well as cost-efficiency benefits for service providers.

In spite of solid offerings, Ericsson is witnessing negative industry trends and adverse business mix in mobile broadband. Particularly, uncertainty in the financial markets, reduced consumer telecom spending and delayed auctions of spectrums pose significant threats for Ericsson. Operators have been cautious in making new investments, especially in the emerging markets, which has affected the company’s revenues and profits. Further, Europe and Latin America — the markets with the biggest impact — are expected to witness an increasingly challenging investment environment.

Ericsson Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Ericsson Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Ericsson Quote

As far as earnings performance is concerned, Ericsson has had a dismal earnings surprise history over the trailing four quarters, missing estimates terribly all through. The company has lagged estimates by a whopping 552.5% on average.

Ericsson’s earnings estimates have moved south in the past couple of months, indicating analyst’s bearish sentiment for the stock. For 2018, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has been revised downward from 17 cents to 3 cents over the past 60 days, driven by three downward estimate revisions versus just one upward.

Over the past year, the company’s shares have lost 3.3%, underperforming the industry's average gain of 4.7%.

Nevertheless, Ericsson expects to stabilize its operations amid a difficult market in 2018. Ekholm’s restructuring plan will streamline the company’s focus areas, improve profitability and revitalize its technology and market leadership.

It is to be seen whether these steps will help Ericsson to get back on the growth track. Right now, we are apprehensive over the impact of the restructuring and tough market conditions on the company’s profits and share price in the near term.

We have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) on the stock, at present. Investors who are looking for exposure to the upcoming 5G upgrade cycle or IoT might look at players like Nokia (HE:NOKIA) Corporation (NYSE:NOK) and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) .

Stock to Consider

A better-ranked stock in the same space is Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) , holding a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Harris Corporation has a decent earnings surprise history, with an average positive surprise of 6.7%, driven by three earnings beats over the trailing four quarters.

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