The robotics specialist shows improvement in every key metric to blow past Wall Street's expectations for its third quarter.
This article originally appeared as part of ongoing coverage in our premium Motley Fool Rule Breakers service ... we hope you enjoy this complimentary peek!
Shares of iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) shot up more than 16% in early trading Wednesday following a blowout earnings report by the home-helper robotics specialist after the end of trading on Tuesday.
Wall Street's analysts had expected revenue of $134.8 million and earnings of $0.33 per share for the third quarter, but iRobot came in well above both estimates with $143.5 million in third-quarter revenue and $0.48 in EPS. Home robots led the way, as the segment's 19% year-over-year growth more than compensated for a modest 5% year-over-year improvement in defense sales. The average sale price per home robot also improved from $225 a year ago to $244 in the current quarter, helping to offset a unit price decline in defense robotics. Both segments improved their gross margins significantly, which helps explain iRobot's strong bottom-line beat.
Looking ahead, iRobot expects to earn between $0.26-$0.31 per share for the fourth quarter on a range of $158 million-$167 million in revenue. These ranges fall below Wall Street's expectations for $167.8 million in revenue and $0.35 in EPS. However, iRobot updated its full-year guidance range for the bottom line, as it now anticipates EPS in the range of $1.20-$1.25 on revenue ranging from $555 million-$565 million. Wall Street had expected $556.2 million in revenue, but only $1.14 in EPS, so iRobot's full-year expectations now look better than analysts' projections, particularly on the bottom line.