Genuine Parts beats estimates and offers upbeat guidance – MarketWatch
Genuine Parts Company shares
GPC,
-1.81%
rose 1% in premarket trade Thursday, after the car parts maker beat fourth-quarter earnings estimates and offered guidance that was above consensus. Atlanta-based Genuine Parts posted net income of $256.0 million, or $1.79 a share, for the quarter, up from $171.6 million, or $1.18 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings were also $1.79, ahead of the $1.59 FactSet consensus. Sales rose 13% to $4.8 billion from $4.3 billion a year ago, also ahead of the $4.7 billion FactSet consensus. “Strong sales growth combined with ongoing initiatives to improve gross margin and control expenses in an inflationary environment drove an 18% increase in adjusted earnings per share, which along with our continued focus on working capital improvement, helped us to deliver strong cash flow,” Chief Executive Paul Donahue said in a statement. The company is now expecting 2022 adjusted EPS of $7.45 to $7.60, above the FactSet consensus of $7.31. It expects sales to grow 9% to 11%, compared with a FactSet consensus that implies growth of about 5%. Shares have gained 31% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-2.12%
has gained 13.8%.