MSC Industrial to Report Q2 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock?

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. MSM is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal 2025 results on April 4, 2025, before the opening bell.Find the latest earnings estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MSM’s fiscal second-quarter revenues is pegged at $900.9 billion, indicating a year-over-year decline of 3.7%. The estimate for earnings per share is pegged at 68 cents, implying a year-over-year plunge of 42.4%. Earnings estimates have been unchanged over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchMSC Industrial’s Earnings Surprise HistoryMSM’s bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, matched in one and missed in the remaining quarter. The company has an earnings surprise of 3.5%, on average, over the trailing four quarters.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchWhat the Zacks Model Unveils for MSMOur proven model predicts an earnings beat for MSC Industrial this season. The company has the right combination of the two key ingredients — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — which increase the odds of an earnings beat.You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Earnings ESP: MSM has an Earnings ESP of +2.61%.Zacks Rank: MSC Industrial currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3.Factors Likely to Have Shaped MSM’s Q2 PerformanceAround 70% of MSC Industrial’s revenues come from sales in the manufacturing sector. Per the Federal Reserve, industrial production was up 0.7% in February 2025 following increases of 1.1% and 0.3% in December 2024 and January 2025, respectively. Manufacturing output inched up 0.8% in February, a slight improvement from the 0.1% rise in January and 0.5% uptick in December 2024. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index had been in contraction for 26 months till December 2024, registering 49.2%. However, it expanded in January and February 2025 with readings of 50.9% and 50.3%, respectively. However, the New Orders Index was 48.6% in February, showing contraction after 55.1% in January and 52.1% in December 2024 (both showing expansion). It was down 6.5 percentage points from January, which is the highest single-month decline since April 2020, when the index had dropped 15.1 percentage points. Customers are pausing on new orders as a result of uncertainty regarding tariffs.Overall, this scenario is likely to reflect on MSM’s results in the quarter under review. Also, the company had said that the average daily sales growth rate in December had been significantly weighed down by holiday and fiscal calendar timing. Factoring in an improvement in the latter part of the quarter, MSM had guided average daily sales for the second quarter to decline 3-5%.The company projected an operating margin in the range of 6.5-7.5%. It had reported an adjusted operating margin of 10.5% in the year-ago quarter.Higher operating expenses and personnel-related expenses are expected to have hurt margins in the quarter. However, productivity improvements per the execution of its second phase of its Mission Critical strategy are expected to have offset some of the impact.MSM Stock’s Price PerformanceShares of the company have lost 17.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s 14.8% fall.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchRecent Performances of a Few Industrial Services StocksApplied Industrial Technologies AIT reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 (ended Dec. 31, 2024) earnings of $2.39 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.22. The bottom line increased 6.7% year over year.Applied Industrial Technologies’ net revenues of $1.07 billion missed the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. The top line inched down 0.4% year over year. Acquisitions boosted the top line by 1.9% while foreign-currency translation had a negative impact of 0.5%. Applied Industrial Technologies’ organic sales decreased 3.4% year over year. Selling days had a favorable impact of 1.6%.MRC Global Inc. MRC reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted loss of eight cents per share against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of eight cents per share. In the year-ago quarter, MRC Global reported earnings of 23 cents per share.MRC Global’s total revenues of $664 million missed the consensus estimate of $695 million. The top line decreased 10.3% year over year due to the lower volume of sales in the Downstream, Industrial and Energy Transition and Production & Transmission Infrastructure sectors.Another Stock That Warrants a LookHere is another stock with the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in its upcoming release.Alcoa AA, expected to release earnings on April 16, has an Earnings ESP of +10.98% and a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Alcoa’s first-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings is currently pegged at $$1.69 per share, indicating a solid improvement from the loss of 81 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for Alcoa’s revenues is currently $3.57 billion, implying year-over-year growth of 37.4%.Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and SellsWe're not kidding.Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent.Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators,and more, that closed 256 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2024 alone.See Stocks Now >>Want 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 Alcoa (AA): Free Stock Analysis Report Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT): Free Stock Analysis Report MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (MSM): Free Stock Analysis Report MRC Global Inc. (MRC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks