What: Shares of GPS and wearable device maker Garmin (GRMN -0.85%) rose as much as 19.1% on Wednesday and are up 17.3% at the time of this writing. Notably, Garmin is now among the minority of technology stocks that are actually trading higher year to date. Shares are up 9% year to date after today's rise.
The market optimism toward the stock follows the company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, which were reported before the market opened.
So what: On average, analysts were expecting the company to report revenue and adjusted EPS of about $760 million and $0.48. Instead, Garmin reported revenue and adjusted EPS of $781 million and $0.74.
The company's revenue and profit margins exceeded its expectations during the quarter, finishing the year strong "[d]espite the challenging global economic environment and the intensified competitive landscape of 2015," management explained during the company's fourth-quarter earnings release.
Now what: Going forward, the company said it plans to tap into its "robust balance sheet to further diversify our revenue base in adjacent categories with our recently announced acquisitions." Management believes it has "strong products" across its business segments and is "well positioned" as it enters 2016.
