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 Polaris Industries (PII 0.99%) were leaving the competition in the dust today, climbing as much as 10% and finishing up 9% on a strong second-quarter earnings report.
So what: The maker of vehicles such as ATV's and snowmobiles said sales jumped 20% to $1.01 billion, edging past the consensus at $1 billion, while earnings per share grew 26% to $1.42, topping estimates at $1.39. CEO Scott Wine noted sales in North America were up 15%, and motorcycle sales more than doubled to $103.1 million thanks to strong growth in India. Based on "strong demand for our existing offerings and our industry leading product innovation," the company lifted its guidance for the full year.
Now what: Management now sees earnings for fiscal 2014 at $6.48-$6.58, up from the previous range of $6.30-$6.45, and slightly ahead of estimates at $6.49. Last year, Polaris made a profit of $5.40 per share. The company's performance is all the more impressive when compared to struggling rivals including Arctic Cat and Harley Davidson, the last of which fell 5% today after cutting its outlook. The motorcycle market is particularly promising for Polaris, and the 15% growth in North American demonstrates strength for its Indian motorcycles at home. With its current momentum, I'd expectPolaris to keep delivering solid results in the quarters ahead.
