Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Oshkosh Corporation (OSK 1.48%) jumped as much as 14% today after the company reported earnings.
So what: Fiscal-first-quarter revenue dropped 12.6% to $1.53 billion as defense customers pulled back spending. But management was prepared for lower defense spending and when combined with higher margin sales net income was up 19% to $54.9 million, or $0.63 per share.
Now what: One interesting note is that management said European demand was stronger than expected and orders are picking up for 2014. That's helped give enough confidence to raise earnings guidance for this year to a range of $3.40-$3.65 per share. That puts shares at most 16.6 times 2014 earnings, which isn't a bad value. I'm cautious given the decline in sales, but overall I think economic strength will allow the company to grow over the long term.
