What's In The Cards For FLIR Systems' (FLIR) Q4 Earnings?

FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:FLIR) is set to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 financial results on Feb 27, before the opening bell.

The company’s bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average beat being 4.32%.

Sales growth in the company’s Government & Defense business units is likely to have aided overall revenues in the quarter to be reported.

Let's take a closer look at the factors that might have influenced FLIR Systems’ quarterly performance.

Factors at Play

The company's Government & Defense business unit has been registering robust growth on frequent product innovation and bookings, which in turn, results in solid organic revenue growth. Expecting a similar trend for the days ahead, the company, in the third-quarter earnings call, announced its expectations of witnessing strong segmental performance in the fourth quarter.

From the perspective of product innovation, FLIR System unveiled its three dome-shaped, Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) security cameras during the fourth quarter, which assists perimeter protection, and the evolving security needs of critical infrastructure sites and cities.

Thus, we anticipate such developments to have boosted this segment’s quarterly performance. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the segment’s fourth-quarter revenues is pinned at $225 million, calling for a jump of 31.6% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

With a handful of FLIR Systems’ segments reflecting upbeat top-line outlook for the December-end quarter, we are optimistic about its overall revenue performance. In line with this, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $500 million, indicating an 11.5% year-over-year improvement.

During the third-quarter earnings call, FLIR Systems had highlighted its anticipation of witnessing positive contributions in the fourth quarter from the Endeavor Robotics and Aeryon Labs acquisitions. This, along with the stellar revenue growth projections, makes us optimistic about the company’s bottom-line performance in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.

However, prevalent headwinds in the Commercial Business segment might have dented its quarterly performance. As a result, the segment's fourth-quarter earnings estimate stands at 10.75 cents, reflecting a 28.9% decline from the year-ago quarter’s reported number.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FLIR Systems’ fourth-quarter earnings per share is currently pegged at 62 cents, in line with the year-ago quarter’s figure.

At the beginning of the October-December period, FLIR Systems acquired the intellectual property (IP) and certain operating assets of Aria Insights. We expect the upcoming results to duly reflect partial positive synergies from this deal as well.

FLIR Systems, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for FLIR Systems this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP, and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), increases the chances of an earnings beat. But this is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: FLIR Systems carries a Zacks Rank #3, currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Recent Defense Releases

Teledyne Technologies Inc. (NYSE:TDY) reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $2.90 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.76 by 5.1%. The bottom-line figure came in above the guided range of $2.71-$2.76.

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) posted earnings of $5.29 per share for the December-end quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.99 by 6%. The bottom line also improved 20.5% from the year-ago quarter’s $4.39.

Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) delivered adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share for the October-December quarter, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents by 1.2%. Further, the bottom line improved 4.9% from the prior-year quarter’s 82 cents.

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