Shares of Lear Corp. LEA fell 4% since it reported its third-quarter 2024 results. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.89, which increased from $2.87 recorded in the year-ago quarter and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.57. In the reported quarter, revenues decreased 3% year over year to $5.58 billion but surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.52 billion.
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Lear Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Lear Corporation Quote
Sales of the Seating segment totaled $4.11 billion in the reported quarter, down from $4.28 billion generated in the year-ago quarter but surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.04 billion. Adjusted segment earnings came in at $261.5 million, down from $274.9 million recorded in the year-ago quarter but beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $246 million. The segment recorded adjusted margins of 6.4% of sales, the same as recorded in the previous year’s quarter.
Sales of the E-Systems segment were $1.47 billion, falling 1.6% year over year but beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44 billion. Adjusted segmental earnings amounted to $74.2 million, down from $78.9 million in the corresponding quarter of 2023 and lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $78 million. For the E-Systems segment, the adjusted margin was 5% of sales, down from 5.3% in the year-ago quarter.
Sales in the North America region increased 0.9% year over year to $2.40 billion in the quarter under review and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.23 billion.
Sales in the Europe and Africa region fell 6.1% year over year to $1.89 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.90 billion.
Sales in the Asia region totaled $1.05 billion in the quarter, which declined 7.6% year over year and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11 billion.
Sales in the South America region totaled $233.5 million in the quarter, down from $241.7 million generated in the year-ago period and missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $242 million.
The company had $764 million in cash and cash equivalents as of Sept. 28, 2024, compared with $1.2 billion recorded as of Dec. 31, 2023. Long-term debt was $2.77 billion as of Sept. 28, 2024, compared with $2.74 billion at the end of 2023.
During the quarter under discussion, net cash provided by operating activities totaled $182.7 million. In the reported period, capital expenditure amounted to $132.2 million. The company registered free cash flow (“FCF”) of $50.5 million in the quarter.
During the quarter, LEA repurchased 1,875,382 shares of its common stock for a total of $209 million. At the end of the quarter, Lear had a remaining share repurchase authorization of nearly $1.2 billion.
Lear now projects its full-year net sales in the band of $22.95-$23.15 billion, down from the previous guidance of $23.23-$23.67 billion. Core operating earnings are envisioned in the range of $1.04-$1.09 billion compared with the previous estimate of $1.03-$1.2 billion.
Operating cash flow is projected between $1,110 million and $1,160 million, down from the previous outlook of $1,135-$1,285 million. Lear anticipates FCF in the band of $535-$585 million compared with the previous estimate of $485-$635 million. Capital spending is now estimated to be $575 million, down from the previous outlook of $650 million. Adjusted EBITDA is envisioned between $1.67 billion and $1.72 billion, down from the previous guidance of $1.67-$1.84 billion.
LEA currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are REE Automotive Ltd. REE, CytoDyn Inc. CYDY, and BYD Company Limited BYDDY. While REE and CYDY sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each, BYDDY carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for REE’s 2024 earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 64.37%. Earnings per share (EPS) estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved $2.98 and $2.75, respectively, in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CYD’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 19.37% and 43.43%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2024 have improved by 35 cents in the past 60 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BYDDY’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 21.88% and 19.52%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved by 7 cents and 13 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
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