Stratasys (SSYS 0.61%) is slated to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 results before the market open on Wednesday, Feb. 23. An analyst conference call is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET on the same day.
Like last quarter, the 3D printing company's report will come ahead of that of its archrival, 3D Systems (DDD 0.57%), which plans to announce its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 results after the market close on Monday, Feb. 28. (You can read my 3D Systems earnings preview here.)
Last quarter, Stratasys sped by Wall Street's revenue and earnings expectations, resulting in investors driving shares up 13%. Investors are surely hoping for another round of big beats on both the top and bottom lines.
In 2022, Stratasys stock is up 0.8% through Feb. 8, while the S&P 500 index is down about 5%. Last year, Stratasys stock underperformed the market, gaining 18.2%, compared to the S&P 500's 28.7% return. By contrast, 3D Systems stock gained 106%, making it the best-performing 3D printing stock of 2021.
Here's what to watch in Stratasys' Q4 report.
Image source: Getty Images.
Stratasys' key quarterly numbers
Below are the company's results from the year-ago quarter and Wall Street's consensus estimates to use as benchmarks.
| Metric |
Q4 2020 Result |
Wall Street's Q4 2021 Consensus Estimate | Wall Street's Projected Year-Over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Revenue |
$142.4 million |
$165.0 million |
16% |
|
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) |
$0.13 | ($0.01) | N/A. Result expected to flip to negative from positive. |
Data sources: Stratasys and Yahoo! Finance.
Stratasys guided for fourth-quarter revenue growth of approximately 16% year over year. It expects growth to be driven by continued growth in 3D printer revenue, it said in last quarter's earnings release. The company did not provide an earnings outlook.
Once again, Stratasys has an easy revenue comparable. In the fourth quarter of 2020, its revenue declined 11% from the prior year's period, due at least in part to the pandemic. Some industrial companies were still being cautious with their ordering in the fourth quarter of 2020. In Q4 2019, the company generated revenue of $160.2 million.
In other words, Stratasys needs to turn in revenue greater than $160.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 in order for its revenue for the period to exceed its revenue in the pre-pandemic period two years ago.
For context, in the third quarter of 2021, Stratasys' revenue surged 24% year over year to $159 million, easily surpassing the $150.1 million Wall Street had expected. That result was 1% higher than in the pre-pandemic period two years ago. While the company doesn't break out its revenue by segment, it did say in its earnings presentation that healthcare is its fastest-growing vertical.
Last quarter, adjusted net income was $0.5 million, or $0.01 per share, up from a net loss of $3 million, or $0.05 per share, in the year-ago period. That result sailed by the analyst consensus estimate, which was for a loss of $0.06 per share.
First-quarter 2022 guidance
As always, management's guidance will be important because the market looks ahead. Indeed, first-quarter guidance could be a bigger factor than fourth-quarter results in moving the stock.
For Q1 2022, Wall Street is currently modeling for revenue to grow 14% year over year to $153 million. Analysts also expect an adjusted loss of $0.05 per share, which would be a slight improvement from the adjusted loss of $0.06 per share in the year-ago period.
