How Stratasys Blew Away Investors With a Loss

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 12:26PM EST · Published Mar 3, 8:50AM EST

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How Stratasys Blew Away Investors With a Loss — © courtesy of 3D Systems Inc.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) released its fourth-quarter earnings report on Thursday before the markets opened. The company said it had a net loss of $0.01 per share on $173.4 million in revenue, compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of a net loss of $0.12 per share on revenue of $168.31 million. In the same period of last year, it posted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48 and $217.11 million in revenue.

In terms of guidance for 2016, the company expects to have EPS in the range of $0.17 to $0.43 and revenues between $700 million and $730 million. The consensus estimates call for $0.18 in EPS on $700.62 million in revenue for the year.

During this quarter, Stratasys reduced its global workforce by roughly 10% as part of a restructuring plan to generate operational efficiencies and improvements in working capital management. Also the company has initiated programs to reduce operating expenses and optimize manufacturing. Management expects these restructuring activities to be realized throughout 2016.

David Reis, CEO of Stratasys, commented on earnings:

Our fourth quarter results reflect the impact of a market environment that is consistent with conditions we have observed throughout the year. Despite this challenging environment, we remain focused on our strategic initiatives. We are also making progress in optimizing our company’s cost structure and improving working capital management, and were satisfied to observe a favorable trend in operating expenses and positive cash flow from operations during the quarter.

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Reis continued:

We have entered a transformative new phase in our company’s development. Our goal is to maintain our leadership position in prototyping, while developing a solutions-based business model that targets key vertical markets and emerging applications for end-use parts. We believe our comprehensive new strategy will help grow our markets and is essential for maintaining our leadership position.

On the books, cash and cash equivalents totaled $257.6 million at the end of the quarter, compared to $442.1 million in the same period from last year.

Shares of Stratasys closed Wednesday up 3% at $20.89, with a consensus analyst price target of $25.36 and a 52-week trading range $14.48 to $64.96. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was up 12.5% at $23.49 in early trading indications Thursday.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.