Garmin Ltd.
GRMN
reported fourth-quarter 2020 pro-forma earnings of $1.73 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.37. Moreover, the bottom line improved 34% on a year-over-year basis.
Net sales were $1.35 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17 billion. Further, the figure increased 23% from the year-ago quarter.
The top-line growth was driven by strong performance by the company’s marine, outdoor and fitness segments. Moreover, increasing demand for active lifestyle products remained a major positive.
However, sluggishness in its aviation segment was concerning.
Nevertheless, Garmin’s strong focus on continued innovation, diversification and market expansion to explore opportunities across all business segments remains a major positive. Further, strong product lines are expected to aid its performance for the current quarter.
Garmin Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Garmin Ltd. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart
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Garmin Ltd. Quote
Segmental Details
Fitness (34.8%):
This segment generated sales of $470.8 million, which increased 26% from the year-ago quarter. This can be primarily attributed to its well-performing advanced wearables and cycling products.
Outdoor (30.5% of net sales):
The segment generated sales of $411.9 million for the reported quarter, improving 40% year over year. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by robust demand for Garmin’s adventure watches.
Aviation (11.6%):
The segment generated sales of $157 million, declining 19% on a year-over-year basis. This was due to low contribution from ADS-B products. Also, weak shipments to OEM customers remained a headwind.
Marine (12.7%):
Garmin generated sales of $171.6 million from this segment, which increased 48% on a year-over-year basis. The company witnessed solid momentum across chartplotters during the reported quarter, which, in turn, drove the segment’s revenues.
Auto (10.4%):
This segment generated sales of $140.1 million, up 11% from the prior-year quarter. The increase was primarily driven by OEM programs and growth in consumer specialty categories.
Revenues by Geography
Americas:
Garmin generated sales of $595.7 million from this region for the reported quarter, up 13% year over year.
EMEA:
This region generated sales of $536.8 million for the fourth quarter, up 32% on a year-over-year basis.
APAC:
The company generated sales of $218.9 million from this region, improving 32% from the year-ago quarter.
Operating Results
For the fourth quarter, gross margin was 58.5%, which expanded 50 basis points (bps) from the year-ago period.
The company’s operating expenses of $420 million were up 16% from the prior-year quarter. However, as a percentage of revenues, the figure contracted 190 bps year over year to 31%.
Operating margin of 27.5% for the reported quarter expanded 240 bps year over year.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
As of Dec 26, 2020, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities came in at $1.85 billion, higher than $1.65 billion on Sep 26, 2020.
For the fourth quarter, inventories were $762.1 million compared with $821.4 million in the third quarter. We note that the company had no long-term debt for the reported quarter.
Further, it generated $435.8 million of cash from operations during the reported quarter compared with $274.3 million in the previous quarter.
Further, the company generated free cash flow of $387.5 million.
Further, Garmin paid out dividends worth $117 million to shareholders in the fourth quarter.
2021 Guidance
The company projects net sales of $4.6 billion, which is expected to be driven by growth in all segments. Year-over-year growth in fitness, outdoor, aviation, marine and auto is projected at 10%, 10%, 5%, 15% and 5%, respectively.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 net sales is pegged at $4 billion.
Further, Garmin expects gross margin and operating margin of 59.2% and 23.5%, respectively.
Also, it projects pro-forma earnings of $5.15 per share. The consensus mark for 2021 earnings is pegged at $4.78 per share.
Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Garmin currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include
Semtech Corporation
SMTC
,
KLA Corporation
KLAC
and
Flex Ltd.
FLEX
, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
Long-term earnings growth for Semtech, KLA Corp., and Flex is currently projected at 12.5%, 11.6%, and 13.3%, respectively.
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