What happened
Diebold Nixdorf (DBD) stock climbed 116.2%% in February, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The ATM maker saw its share price soar after it published fourth-quarter results and gave an encouraging outlook for 2019.
Diebold Nixdorf reported fourth-quarter earnings before the market opened on Feb. 13 and delivered results that came in significantly above the market's expectations. The company also issued some encouraging guidance, suggesting the business may be turning a corner on the heels of a prolonged period of weak performance and debt concerns that have caused the stock to lose roughly three-quarters of its value over the last five years.
Image source: Diebold Nixdorf.
So what
Diebold Nixdorf's fourth-quarter sales rose 3.2% (or 6.6% on a currency-adjusted basis) to reach roughly $1.29 billion and beat the average analyst estimate target for revenue of $1.22 billion. Per-share loss for the period came in at $0.08, significantly worse than the analyst estimate's target for a breakeven quarter, but the company's adjusted EBITDA was up 20.9% year over year to reach $126.7 million.
The company also issued a promising outlook for 2019, with stable product demand and benefits from its ongoing expense reduction initiative paving the way for improved performance. Shares gained 39% in the trading session that followed the earnings release, and the stock continued to increase through the month.
Check out the latest earnings call transcript for Diebold Nixdorf.
Now what
After posting negative free cash flow of $163 million in 2018, Diebold Nixdorf expects to be cash flow neutral in 2019 thanks to better-than-expected progress on its expense reduction initiative. The company is trimming its employee head count, streamlining its product offerings, and implementing other cost-reduction steps. It hopes to achieve roughly $400 million in cost savings from 2019 through 2021 -- up from its previous target for savings of $250 million. Diebold Nixdorf is also divesting from some of its business ventures. Shares trade at roughly 31 times this year's expected earnings
