A Look Back at General Industrial Machinery Stocks’ Q4 Earnings: Albany (NYSE:AIN) Vs The Rest Of The Pack
The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Albany (NYSE:AIN) and the rest of the general industrial machinery stocks fared in Q4. Automation that increases efficiency and connected equipment that collects analyzable data have been trending, creating new demand for general industrial machinery companies. Those who innovate and create digitized solutions can spur sales and speed up replacement cycles, but all general industrial machinery companies are still at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending and interest rates, for example, can greatly impact the industrial production that drives demand for these companies’ offerings. The 14 general industrial machinery stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.9% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line. Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 12.4% since the latest earnings results. Albany (NYSE:AIN) Founded in 1895, Albany (NYSE:AIN) is a global textiles and materials processing company, specializing in machine clothing for paper mills and engineered composite structures for aerospace and other industries. Albany reported revenues of $321.2 million, up 12% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 9.9%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA and EPS estimates. Gunnar Kleveland, Albany International’s President and Chief Executive Officer said, “We are underway with the previously announced strategic review of our structures assembly business and its associated production site in Salt Lake City, and have engaged an advisor to help guide this transaction. This action will position the remaining Aerospace portfolio to align more closely with our strategic priorities and to pursue growth opportunities where our differentiated technologies provide a clear competitive advantage and stronger returns.” Albany Total Revenue Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 9.8% since reporting and currently trades at $52.27. Read our full report on Albany here, it’s free. Best Q4: Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) With 19 different brands across the globe, Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) offers material handling equipment for the construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries. Columbus McKinnon reported revenues of $258.7 million, up 10.5% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.3%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.