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What's happening?
Shares of iRobot (IRBT -0.73%) shot up more than 16% in early trading Wednesday following a blowout earnings report by the home-helper robotics specialist after the end of trading on Tuesday.
Why it's happening
Wall Street's analysts had expected revenue of $134.8 million and earnings of $0.33 per share for the third quarter, but iRobot came in well above both estimates with $143.5 million in third-quarter revenue and $0.48 in EPS. Home robots led the way, as the segment's 19% year-over-year growth more than compensated for a modest 5% year-over-year improvement in defense sales. The average sale price per home robot also improved from $225 a year ago to $244 in the current quarter, helping to offset a unit price decline in defense robotics. Both segments improved their gross margins significantly, which helps explain iRobot's strong bottom-line beat.
Looking ahead, iRobot expects to earn between $0.26-$0.31 per share for the fourth quarter on a range of $158 million-$167 million in revenue. These ranges fall below Wall Street's expectations for $167.8 million in revenue and $0.35 in EPS. However, iRobot updated its full-year guidance range for the bottom line, as it now anticipates EPS in the range of $1.20-$1.25 on revenue ranging from $555 million-$565 million. Wall Street had expected $556.2 million in revenue, but only $1.14 in EPS, so iRobot's full-year expectations now look better than analysts' projections, particularly on the bottom line.
