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Descartes (DSGX) Acquires England-based BoxTop for $13M

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The Descartes Systems Group Inc (DSGX - Free Report) had recently acquired England-based BoxTop Technologies Limited for $13 million (or £10.25 million) in an all-cash deal.

The company is looking to integrate BoxTop solutions with its Global Logistics Network (“GLN”) platform. The acquisition of BoxTop will aid Descartes in expanding its footprint in Europe.

Descartes noted that it has been working with BoxTop for some time now and acquisition was the “next logical step” of the collaboration.

Headquartered in Windsor, BoxTop specializes in offering shipment management solutions to small to mid-sized logistics services providers (LSPs). It aids LSPs in accelerating the digitalization of operations. This helps LSPs to join with the broader logistics community to boost the lifecycle management of shipments.

BoxTop platform helps in the safe movement of goods through various stages from quoting, routing, booking and final delivery. At present, it uses Descartes’ GLN to provide customers the visibility into shipments across various transportation modes and to execute electronic customs filings.

Descartes remains focused on strategic acquisitions to drive financial performance. Buyouts have aided growth by expanding product portfolio and adding competence. In April 2024, DSGX announced the acquisition of Aerospace Software Developments (ASD). Based in Dublin, Ireland, ASD is a software company that builds mission-critical applications based on modern RFID technology, specifically engineered for the Aerospace and Aviation market sector.

Prior to that, In March 2024, the company acquired OCR Services, Inc., specializing in global trade compliance solutions and content. OCR’s controlled export data is instrumental in broadening DSGX’s vast global trade content library for customers and partners, including SAP and Oracle. Some other notable acquisitions in the recent past were Localz (2023), GroundCloud (2023) and Supply Vision (2023).

In the last reported quarter, Descartes' revenues were $151.3 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.9%. The top line grew 11% year over year. Synergies arising from the acquisition of OCR and ASD in the fiscal first quarter, along with healthy momentum in services revenues, led to the expansion. Also, acquisitions settled in fiscal 2024, including GroundCloud and Localz favorably impacted revenue growth.

Based in Canada, Descartes Systems Group provides software-as-a-service logistics solutions to businesses, including transportation and logistics, manufacturing, retail and healthcare.

At present, DSGX currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares have gained 22.6% compared with sub-industry’s growth of 22.8% in the past year.

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Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked stocks worth consideration in the broader technology space are Badger Meter (BMI - Free Report) , Arista Networks (ANET - Free Report) and Woodward Inc (WWD - Free Report) , currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMI’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $3.89, up 9.9% in the past 60 days. BMI’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 12.7%. The long-term earnings growth rate is 15.6%. Shares of BMI have risen 22.2% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arista Network’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $7.92, up 5.7% in the past 60 days. The long-term earnings growth rate is 15.7%. ANET’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 15.4%. Shares of ANET have gained 80.8% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Woodward’s fiscal 2024 EPS has increased 11.4% in the past 60 days to $5.88. WWD earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters, the average surprise being 26.1%. Shares of WWD have risen 59.6% in the past year.

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