Companies and Brands

This Is the Best Performing Stock of 2020

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: September 27, 2020 7:08 am

Last Updated: September 28, 2020 6:45 am

Carrier Global Corp. (NYSE: CARR) is in several boring businesses. It only went public on April 3. However, it is the best performing stock among the S&P 500, higher by 153%, while the index is flat.

Carrier builds heating and refrigeration products. It was spun out from decades-old conglomerate United Technologies, a company that decided it was worth more to shareholders in parts than as a whole. For a public corporation that is not universally known on Wall St., Carrier is unusually large with 52,000 employees in 160 countries.

Perhaps the reason that Carrier’s shares have moved up is something that CEO Dave Gitlin said: “Against the backdrop of unprecedented global uncertainty, Carrier and its employees remain focused and continue to solve critical challenges – from improving indoor air quality, protecting the world’s food and pharmaceutical supply and keeping people safe and secure” The “safe and secure” part is among the reasons Carrier’s products, which, among other things, clean and circulate air, are in such demand.

Several weeks ago, Bloomberg ran an article headlined “What Sells in a Pandemic? Weight Watchers, Pools and Cereal.” Carrier made the shortlist. “HVAC systems have been another spending hot spot because a broken air conditioner makes spending 24/7 inside a home even more of a challenge. Proper ventilation is also a critical tool for combating the coronavirus. Orders for residential HVAC systems were up 100% in June compared with those in the month a year earlier…”

Carrier also handily beat earnings estimates for the second quarter. Ironically, revenue and earnings were down. However, the company’s forecast for the balance of the year was raised. Revenue dropped 20% to $4 billion for the quarter. Operating income fell 45% to $442 million.

The forecast revenue range of the year before the earnings announcement was $15 billion to $17. It was raised to $15.5 to $17 billion. The range of operating profit was raised to $1.8 billion to $2 billion, up from $1.7 billion to $2 billion.

Now, all Carrier probably needs to do to keep its shares on the rise is to beat those numbers.