Lear Corp. LEA reported second-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $3.60, which increased from $3.33 recorded in the year-ago quarter and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.34. In the reported quarter, revenues increased 0.2% year over year to $6.01 billion and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6 billion.
Lear Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Lear Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Lear Corporation Quote
Segment Performance
Sales of the Seating segment totaled $4,447 million in the reported quarter, down from $4,468 million generated in the year-ago quarter and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,450 million. Adjusted segment earnings came in at $302.1 million, down from $322.1 million recorded in the year-ago quarter and also missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $311 million. The segment recorded adjusted margins of 6.8% of sales compared with 7.2% recorded in the previous year’s quarter.
Sales of the E-Systems segment were $1.57 billion, rising 2.2% year over and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.55 billion. Adjusted segmental earnings amounted to $82.2 million, up from $63.3 million in the corresponding quarter of 2023 and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $77 million. For the E-Systems segment, the adjusted margin was 5.3% of sales, up from 4.1% in the year-ago quarter.
Performance by Region
Sales in the North America region increased 3.3% year over year to $2.55 billion in the quarter under review and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.44 billion.
Sales in the Europe and Africa region grew 0.9% year over year to $2.17 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.13 billion.
Sales in the Asia region totaled $1.07 billion in the quarter, declining 3.1% year over year and missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.15 billion.
Sales in the South America region totaled $213.9 million in the quarter, down from $227.8 million generated in the year-ago period and missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $222 billion.
Financial Position
The company had $950.3 million in cash and cash equivalents as of Jun 29, 2024, compared with $1.2 billion recorded as of Dec 31, 2023. Long-term debt was $2.74 billion as of Jun 29, 2024, at similar levels with 2023 end.
During the quarter under discussion, net cash used in operating activities totaled $291.2 million. In the reported period, capital expenditure amounted to $120.8 million. The company registered free cash flow (“FCF”) of $170.4 million in the quarter.
During the quarter, LEA repurchased 477,932 shares of its common stock for a total of $60 million. At the end of the quarter, Lear had a remaining share repurchase authorization of nearly $1.4 billion.
Updated 2024 Guidance
Lear now projects its full-year net sales in the band of $23.23-$23.67 billion, down from the previous guidance of $24-$24.6 billion. Core operating earnings are envisioned in the range of $1.03-$1.20 billion, down from the previous estimate of $1.15-$1.30 billion.
Operating cash flow is projected between $1,135 million and $1,285 million, down from the previous outlook of $1,275-$1,425 million. Lear anticipates FCF in the band of $485-$635 million, down from the previous estimate of $600-$750 million. Capital spending is now estimated to be $650 million, down from the previous outlook of $675 million. Adjusted EBITDA is envisioned between $1,670 million and $1,840 million, down from the previous guidance of $1,795-$1,945 million.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
LEA currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Suzuki Motor Corporation SZKMY, BYD Company Limited BYDDY and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. HMC, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The consensus estimate for SZKMY’s 2025 earnings suggests a year-over-year growth of 2.09%. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 38 cents and 15 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BYDDY’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 21.11% and 9.93%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 19 cents and 29 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HMC’s 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 0.73%. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 5 cents and 4 cents, respectively, in the past seven days.
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