Shares of GE Vernova (GEV 14.58%) stock, the power generation equipment division spun off from General Electric last year, reported powerful earnings this morning, boosting its stock 14.8% through 11:30 a.m. ET.
Analysts forecast GE Vernova would earn $1.50 per share on $8.8 billion in Q2 sales. Instead, the company reported a profit of $1.88, and sales of $9.1 billion.
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GE Vernova Q2 earnings
Given the distortions caused by last year's spinoff, comparing this year's Q2 results and last year's is hard. Still, sales grew 11%, and this suggests the business did well, despite earnings declining 60% and free cash flow falling more than 76% to $194 million.
Management noted it took in $12.4 billion in new orders in the quarter, making for a 1.4 book-to-bill ratio that foreshadows strong sales growth ahead. CEO Scott Strazik claims the company can "continue to accelerate our growth and margin expansion from here."
Is GE Vernova stock a buy?
Strazik raised guidance for revenue, profit margin, and free cash flow expectations for the year. Revenue is now expected to come in close to $37 billion in 2025 with adjusted EBITDA margins between 8% and 9%. Free cash flow, previously predicted between $2 billion and $2.5 billion, could now reach from $3 billion to $3.5 billion, says management -- potentially 30% better than the company's $2.7 billion trailing FCF number.
Still, at the low end of guidance this would value the stock at close to 50 times FCF -- and nearly 43 times even at the high end of guidance. Even with 30% growth, that's kind of a stretch. I realize I'm in the minority today, but I won't be buying GE Vernova stock at these kinds of prices.
