Danaher Corporation
recently delivered a solid set of second-quarter earnings that belied
some of the disappointing reports we have seen from other companies in
the industrial sector in this current earnings season. The company is
known for its business model of acquiring companies and then applying
its Danaher Business System, or DBS, in order to increase their
productivity.
Let's take a closer look at the earnings report and by use of a slideshow see if the business model is still working
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Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) was
already having a difficult 2015, but unfortunately it just got a bit
worse with its third-quarter results. The company continued its
three-quarter-long streak of lowering its underlying revenue guidance,
and management continued to caution investors that market conditions are
likely to remain difficult for the next year. Let's take a closer look
at the underlying trends in the results, and the pressures building up
on the company.
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Cognex Corporation
delivered a solid set of results for its second quarter, but its
guidance for the third quarter was nothing less than a disappointment.
In short, management's expectations for revenue fell significantly short
of expectations. The news is all the more disconcerting because the
company has been taking steps to gear up for growth in precisely the
kind of orders and revenue that won't be appearing in the third quarter.
What went wrong?
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Engine and powertrain company BorgWarner
released its second-quarter earnings today, and disappointed the market
by missing analyst estimates and reducing its full-year guidance. If
there's one thing you can conclude from the recent spate of earnings in
the industrial sector, it's that China's automotive sector is slowing.
In truth, after missing analyst estimates
in its first quarter, the pressure was on BorgWarner to come up with a
good set of results this time around. Unfortunately, a combination of
factors conspired to disappoint such hopes. Let's take a closer look at
what happened.
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Commercial real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle
delivered another strong set of results in its second-quarter and one
detail in its earnings and guidance helped allay some concerns over the
North American commercial construction market.
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Precision Castparts (NYSE:PCP)
missed analyst estimates for revenue and EPS in its first-quarter
results, yet the stock moved sharply higher on the day. The company has
disappointed investors with its past few earnings reports, but that
wasn't enough to stop Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
from adding to its position in the stock. Despite the disappointments,
or possibly because of them, the stock has become a value proposition.
Let's look at what happened in its first quarter.
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Investors in Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE:JCI)
have watched the company being restructured in the past couple of
years, and the recent third-quarter results promised more of the same.
Having announced an intent to explore strategic options for its
Automotive Experience segment (dealing in car seating and interiors) in
June, management subsequently released third-quarter results and
announced plans for a tax-free spinoff of the segment -- one that could
change the nature of the company. With this development in mind, let's
look at the five key takeaways from the earnings report.
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Despite some disappointing developments in the last three months, United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS)
managed to beat earnings estimates with its second-quarter results.
Moreover, management pleased investors when it expressed confidence in
hitting the upper end of the company's full-year guidance range. The
stock is up more than 5% as of this writing. Let's take a look at how
the package delivery company managed to do this.
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For the second quarter in a row, staffing specialist Robert Half International (NYSE:RHI)
reported a good set of results -- only for the market to sell off the
stock. Guessing how and why the market reacts to earnings reports is a
thankless task, and investors are probably better occupied by focusing
on what the numbers mean for the developing trends in the business. With
that in mind, let's take a look at the tale of Robert Half's second
quarter.
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Engineering and design software company Dassault Systemes (OTC:DASTY)
has had a strong year so far in 2015, with the stock price up 26% year
to date. Moreover, its second-quarter results confirmed the company's
growth prospects, and for the second quarter in a row, management
upgraded its full-year guidance.
Let's take a look at four key takeaways from the results.
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Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)
released a set of second-quarter earnings that suggested the company is
on track with most of its growth initiatives in 2015. In recent years,
the company has been known as the highly cash generative but low growth
investment option in the network security sector. However, given its
recent performance it might be time to reappraise that assessment. Let's
take a closer look at the results.
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Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW)
unveiled a mixed set of second-quarter results that initially
disappointed the market, and the stock is marked down a few percentage
points as of this writing. However, there are a lot of things going on
underneath the surface of the headline numbers. Let's take a closer look
as I highlight the key points in the quarter.
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Back in October of last year, I took a look at the investment prospects for Advance Auto Parts,
(NYSE: AAP) stock. The investment case for buying the stock rests on
the successful integration of General Parts International, a deal that
results in Advance Auto becoming the largest auto parts retailer in the
U.S.
With the stock up more than 25% since October, I thought it would be
time to update investors on progress with the integration. Is it going
smoothly enough to justify the stock price move?
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With the markets in a tailspin over events
in China and Greece, I thought it would be good to get some commentary
on the global industrial economy. The earnings call at aluminum and
alumina producer Alcoa (NYSE:AA)
is a great place to start. Its management always delivers solid
guidance on its end markets, and what it says has direct relevance to
industrial bellwethers General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) and United Technologies Corporation. Let's take a look at Alcoa's recent results and take a deeper dive into what's going on with the global economy.
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All great corporations have great men
behind them who shape the management philosophy of the company, and
there is no doubt who it is at FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX).
Founder, Chairman, President and CEO Fred Smith created the company in
1971 and his influence can be directly seen in the ongoing operations of
the company today. With this in mind, let's take a look at Smith's
development of FedEx and why it may have led to the company
outperforming its rivals in the last few years.
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The good news is spice-and-seasonings business McCormick & Company (NYSE:MKC)
is achieving most of its objectives in 2015. The bad news is currency
effects continue to erode its reported sales and profit generation. With
this in mind, let's take a closer look at what is actually going on
with its sales trends and earnings. The company reported Q2 results on
July 1 and gave an updated 2015 outlook.
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The latest third-quarter results from MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM)
confirmed the company's position as a potential recovery play, but it
also underlined how difficult its end markets are at present. In short,
it was a mixed bag of results. Let's take a closer look at the good and
bad in the quarter.
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After a difficult 2014 in which the company underperformed the S&P 500 index by nearly 14%, AZZ (NYSE:AZZ)
is ahead of the index by more than 8% on a year-to-date basis.
Essentially, AZZ's management has addressed a number of issues that
plagued the company last year, and the market is warming to its plan to
expand its steel galvanizing operations. In this context, let's take a
look at its recent first-quarter results and what they indicate for the
company's prospects.
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By now, most investors in General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE)
will be aware of management's plans to shift the company toward
generating 90% of its profits from industrial operations by 2018.
Alongside this move, General Electric is also busy trying to generate
orders for three key technologies. All three are within its core
operations, and their success will help convince the market that CEO
Jeff Immelt has put the company on the right track.
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Are you looking to buy into the idea that
the agricultural sector is going to bottom out this year? If so, you
would be in good company, because Warren Buffett has been buying stock in agricultural machinery giant Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE).
But is that the best stock for individual investors? Which stock in the
sector should you prefer, and why? Let's look at the leading candidates
in the agricultural machinery sector and some of their key metrics for
2015 and 2016.
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