Back to top

Image: Bigstock

International Markets and Universal Display (OLED): A Deep Dive for Investors

Read MoreHide Full Article

Have you evaluated the performance of Universal Display Corp.'s (OLED - Free Report) international operations during the quarter that concluded in March 2024? Considering the extensive worldwide presence of this organic light-emitting diode technology company, analyzing the patterns in international revenues is crucial for understanding its financial resilience and potential for growth.

The global economy today is deeply interlinked, making a company's engagement with international markets a critical factor in determining its financial success and growth path. It has become essential for investors to comprehend how much a company relies on these foreign markets, as this understanding reveals the firm's potential for consistent earnings, its capacity to harness different economic cycles, and its overall growth prospects.

Being present in international markets serves as a counterbalance to domestic economic challenges while offering chances to engage with more rapidly evolving economies. However, this kind of diversification introduces challenges like currency fluctuations, geopolitical uncertainties and varying market trends.

While delving into OLED's performance for the past quarter, we observed some fascinating trends in the revenue from its foreign segments that are commonly modeled and observed by analysts on Wall Street.

For the quarter, the company's total revenue amounted to $165.26 million, experiencing an increase of 26.7% year over year. Next, we'll explore the breakdown of OLED's international revenue to understand the importance of its overseas business operations.

A Look into OLED's International Revenue Streams

During the quarter, Japan contributed $1.25 million in revenue, making up 0.8% of the total revenue. When compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 million, this meant a surprise of -28.34%. Looking back, Japan contributed $1.8 million, or 1.1%, in the previous quarter, and $1.65 million, or 1.3%, in the same quarter of the previous year.

Of the total revenue, $1.67 million came from Other Countries during the last fiscal quarter, accounting for 1.0%. This represented a surprise of +21.53% as analysts had expected the region to contribute $1.37 million to the total revenue. In comparison, the region contributed $0.56 million, or 0.4%, and $1.34 million, or 1%, to total revenue in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively.

South Korea generated $102.4 million in revenues for the company in the last quarter, constituting 62.0% of the total. This represented a surprise of +22.46% compared to the $83.62 million projected by Wall Street analysts. Comparatively, in the previous quarter, South Korea accounted for $87.19 million (55.1%), and in the year-ago quarter, it contributed $66.06 million (50.6%) to the total revenue.

China accounted for 34.8% of the company's total revenue during the quarter, translating to $57.47 million. Revenues from this region represented a surprise of +2.42%, with Wall Street analysts collectively expecting $56.11 million. When compared to the preceding quarter and the same quarter in the previous year, China contributed $66.09 million (41.8%) and $57.43 million (44%) to the total revenue, respectively.

Prospective Revenues in International Markets

Wall Street analysts expect Universal Display to report a total revenue of $154.15 million in the current fiscal quarter, which suggests an increase of 5.2% from the prior-year quarter. Revenue shares from Japan, Other Countries, South Korea and China are predicted to be 1.3%, 0.6%, 58% and 38.2%, corresponding to amounts of $1.93 million, $0.86 million, $89.43 million and $58.88 million, respectively.

For the entire year, the company's total revenue is forecasted to be $653.19 million, which is an improvement of 13.3% from the previous year. The revenue contributions from different regions are expected as follows: Japan will contribute 1.3% ($8.14 million), Other Countries 0.7% ($4.49 million), South Korea 55.8% ($364.48 million) and China 40.4% ($263.57 million) to the total revenue.

Concluding Remarks

Universal Display's reliance on international markets for revenues offers both opportunities and risks. Hence, keeping an eye on its international revenue trends could significantly help forecast the company's prospects.

With the increasing intricacies of global interdependence and geopolitical strife, Wall Street analysts meticulously observe these patterns, especially for companies with an international footprint, to tweak their forecasts of earnings. Importantly, several additional factors, such as a company's domestic market status, also impact these earnings forecasts.

At Zacks, a company's changing earnings outlook is given considerable attention due to its proven, strong influence on a stock's price performance in the near term. The connection here is straightforward and positive: when earnings estimates are revised upward, the stock price generally follows suit, increasing as well.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool - the Zacks Rank - harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions and serves as an effective indicator of a stock's near-term price performance.

Currently, Universal Display holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), signifying its potential to match the overall market's performance in the forthcoming period. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Reviewing Universal Display's Recent Stock Price Trends

Over the past month, the stock has seen an increase of 4.9% in its value, whereas the Zacks S&P 500 composite has posted a decrease of 1.6%. The Zacks Computer and Technology sector, Universal Display's industry group, has descended 0.7% over the identical span. In the past three months, there's been a decline of 7% in the company's stock price, against a rise of 3.8% in the S&P 500 index. The broader sector has increased by 4.2% during this interval.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Universal Display Corporation (OLED) - free report >>

Published in