Autoliv Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations, Sales Decline Y/Y

Autoliv Inc. ALV reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $3.05 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.83 but declined 19% year over year. The company reported net sales of $2.62 billion in the quarter, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.71 million and fell 4.9% year over year.See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.Organic sales fell 3.3% year over year and missed our estimate of a decline of 1% due to a negative regional and model light vehicle production mix. Autoliv reported adjusted operating income of $349 million, up 4.7% year over year. Adjusted operating margin was 13.4%, higher than 12.1% in the year-ago period due to the higher gross profit and lower costs for research, development and engineering.Autoliv, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Autoliv, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Autoliv, Inc. QuoteSegmental PerformanceSales in the Airbags and Associated Products segment totaled $1.76 billion, lagging our projection of $1.95 billion. Revenues also fell 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. The major categories within the segment that reported a decline in organic sales include steering wheels, passenger airbags, driver airbags and knee airbags.Sales in the Seatbelts and Associated Products segment totaled $856 million, down 3.5% from the prior-year quarter due to the decline in organic sales in China and Europe. The metric, however, surpassed our projection of $754.9 million. Region-wise, overall sales in the Americas during the quarter under review totaled $786 million, which missed our estimate of $800.2 million and decreased 8.7% year over year.Sales in Europe totaled $715 million, which missed our forecast of $782.7 million and decreased 5.3% year over year.Sales in China came in at $587 million, missing our projection of $606.1 million and fell 4.8% year over year.Sales in the Rest of Asia totaled $527 million, which increased 1.7% year over year and topped our projection of $512.1 million.Financial PositionAutoliv had cash and cash equivalents of $330 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. Long-term debt totaled $1.52 billion. Operating cash flow in the quarter under review was $420 million and capital expenditure amounted to $132 million, resulting in a free cash flow of $288 million. In the quarter, ALV paid a dividend of 70 cents per share and repurchased 1.04 million shares.ALV Provides 2025 GuidanceThe company forecasts 2025 organic sales growth of around 2% compared with 0.4% reported in 2024. The adjusted operating margin is anticipated to be in the range of 10-10.5%. Operating cash flow is expected to be $1.2 billion in 2025.Zacks Rank & Key PicksALV carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Geely Automobile Holdings Limited GELYY, Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. ALSN and Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. YMHAY. While GELYY & ALSN sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each, YMHAY carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GELYY’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 66.62% and 149.31%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have improved by 15 cents and 38 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALSN’s 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 6.67% and 11.40%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 have improved 3 cents in the past 30 days.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for YMHAY’s 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 8.69%and 19.07%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 have improved by a penny in the past 60 days.Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Autoliv, Inc. (ALV): Free Stock Analysis Report Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (ALSN): Free Stock Analysis Report Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. (GELYY): Free Stock Analysis Report Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMHAY): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks