Technology

Why Stratasys Is One of Wednesday's Biggest Earnings Losers

Chris Lange

Published: May 2, 2018 9:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:10 am

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) reported its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Wednesday. The firm said that it had $0.05 in earnings per share (EPS) on $153.8 million in revenue, which compares with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $0.08 in EPS on revenue of $167.5 million. In the same period of last year, it said it had EPS of $0.05 and $163.16 million in revenue.

One main highlight of the report was Stratasys’s new metal additive manufacturing platform. Essentially, the new approach to metal 3D printing results in 80% reduction in cost per part for aluminum components compared to other additive technologies. Also, this solution has been optimized for production rather than prototyping, making it highly efficient and commercially viable for a wide range of applications.

During this quarter, Stratasys announced the collaboration with Eckhart to advance the adoption of 3D printing for factory tooling in North America. Eckhart has been developing factory tools for over 60 years and is utilizing Stratasys’s FDM technology and advanced materials to pursue weight-savings, simplified bills of material and enhanced operator visibility.

Looking ahead to the 2018 full year, the firm expects to see EPS in the range of $0.30 to $0.50 and revenues between $570 million and $700 million. The consensus estimates call for $0.42 in EPS on $685.51 million in revenue.

Ilan Levin, CEO of Stratasys, commented:

We are disappointed with our revenue for the first quarter, which is primarily attributed to underperformance in North America related to high end system orders, specifically from customers in government and other key verticals such as aerospace and automotive. We do not believe that our first quarter revenue represents a fundamental change in the demand environment in the North American market. We continue to maintain a strong pipeline of opportunities, and are not modifying the full year guidance we issued earlier this year. Despite our revenue results in the period we continued our positive trend of operational discipline and cash generation. We remain committed to our investments in long-term initiatives that include advancements in our core FDM and PolyJet technologies, new metal additive manufacturing platform, advanced composite materials, and software and application development.

Shares of Stratasys traded down almost 13% early Wednesday to $17.30. The consensus analyst price target was $21.11, and the prior 52-week range was $18.00 to $30.88.