Earnings: Garmin (GRMN) beats the market again in Q4, shares gain

Shares of Garmin (GRMN) gained over 7% during pre-market trading on Wednesday after the technology firm reported yet another market-beating quarterly earnings, powered by its wearables segment. Pro-forma EPS gained 26% to $1.02 per share in the fourth quarter, surpassing the Wall Street consensus of 79 cents per share.

Analysts had projected net sales of around $889.7 million, but Garmin topped this by delivering $932 million, up 4% year-over-year.

Aviation and Outdoor segments saw the biggest gains in Q4, improving revenues by 22% and 25% respectively. These strong results were partially offset by the continued weakness in Auto segment, which fell 28% compared to the same period last year.

Operating margin improved to 23.9% versus 20.4% during the same quarter last year

The company, which competes with Apple (AAPL) and Fitbit (FIT), expects full-year 2019 revenue of approximately $3.5 billion, driven by growth in fitness, aviation, outdoor and marine units. Earnings are projected at around $3.70 per share during this period.

CEO Cliff Pemble said, “2018 was another remarkable year of revenue and operating income growth driven by strong performance in our aviation, marine, outdoor and fitness segments.”

The  Olathe, Kansas-based smartwatch designer has been making key acquisitions in various sectors, which are expected to diversify its portfolio and boost growth. Last quarter, Garmin acquired flight planning and services provider, FltPlan.com, and last week, it said it was acquiring Tacx, a manufacturer of indoor bike trainers.

Garmin’s stock has gained 10% in the last 52-weeks and looking at the past one month, shares have climbed over 9%.

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