Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Bruker (BRKR) Q2 Earnings Meet Mark, '24 Revenue Outlook Raised

Read MoreHide Full Article

Bruker Corporation (BRKR - Free Report) delivered adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 52 cents in the second quarter of 2024, up 4% year over year. The figure came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

The adjustments include expenses related to the amortization of purchased intangibles, acquisition-related costs and restructuring costs, among others.

GAAP EPS was 5 cents compared with 39 cents in the year-ago period.

Revenues in Detail

Bruker registered revenues of $800.7 million in the second quarter, up 17.4% year over year. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.6%.

Excluding the positive impacts of 11.1% from acquisitions and a 1.1% negative impact of foreign currency rates, the company witnessed organic revenue growth of 7.4%.

Bruker Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Bruker Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Bruker Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Bruker Corporation Quote

On a geographic basis, the United States witnessed a 35.9% year-over-year rise in revenues to $243.7 million. Our model forecast for this region was $208.5 million in sales.

Europe revenues increased 23.8% year over year to $275.8 million, while revenues in the Asia Pacific rose 1.5% to $226.6 million. Our model forecast for these regions was $272 million and $250 million, respectively, for the second quarter.

The Other category’s revenues decreased 3.5% year over year to $54.6 million. Our model’s projection was $44.6 million.

Segmental Analysis

Bruker reports results under two segments BSI (comprising BioSpin, CALID and Nano) and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies (“BEST”).

Revenues in the BSI segment rose 19.7% to $735.6 million in the second quarter of 2024.

Within the segment, BioSpin Group’s revenues surged 34.3% from the year-ago quarter’s levels to $217.5 million. Our model’s projected revenues for the segment were $205.4 million. BioSpin’s organic revenues were up in the mid-20% range, driven by strength in the preclinical imaging and software businesses.

CALID’s revenues rose 16.9% year over year to $265.6 million. Our model forecast was $252.4 million. Organic revenues grew in the mid-single-digit percentage, with a strong performance from the MALDI Biotyper and molecular spectroscopy.

Revenues from the NANO group climbed 12.2% to $252.5 million. Our model projected $239.8 million for this segment. NANO organic revenues were flat as strength in electron microscopy and advanced X-ray was largely offset by softness in fluorescent microscopy.

The BEST segment’s revenues were $69.1 million, down 5% year over year. This fell short of our model’s projection of $83.8 million.

Margin Trend

Bruker’s gross profit rose 13% to $384.6 million. The gross margin contracted 190 basis points (bps) to 48% on a 21.9% rise in costs.

SG&A expenses rose 24.4% to $221.3 million. R&D expenses went up 29.9% year over year to $92.2 million. Adjusted operating expenses of $313.5 million increased 30% year over year.

The adjusted operating profit was $71.1 million, down 22.4% from the prior-year quarter’s levels. The adjusted operating margin contracted 455 bps to 8.9%.

Financial Position

Bruker exited the second quarter of 2024 with cash and cash equivalents of $169.7 million compared with $340.1 million at the end of the first quarter.

The total long-term debt (including the current portion) at the end of the second quarter of 2024 was $2.16 billion, up from $1.38 billion at the first quarter-end.

The cumulative net cash flow from operating activities was $22.7 million compared with $100.5 million during last year’s comparable period.

2024 Guidance

Bruker updated the outlook for 2024.

For the full year, the company now expects revenues in the range of $3.38-$3.44 billion (up from the previously guided range of $3.29-$3.35 billion). The updated guidance indicates year-over-year revenue growth of 14%-16% on a reported basis (previously 11%-13%).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $3.39 billion.

BRKR expects its 2024 adjusted EPS in the range of $2.59-$2.64 (earlier $2.79-$2.84). The consensus estimate for EPS is pegged at $2.66.

Our Take

Bruker ended the second quarter of 2024 with in-line earnings and better-than-expected revenues. BRKR delivered above-market organic growth, driven by its differentiated innovation engine, as well as the multi-year transformation toward fundamentally favorable secular trends for its unique enabling tools for the post-genomic era. Additionally, Bruker is benefitting from strong orders in semiconductor metrology, supporting high-performance computing for the AI megatrend, with robust orders in Pacific Rim countries and North America.

In the first half of the year, Bruker completed three strategic acquisitions that significantly accelerated its portfolio transformation and market expansion into spatial biology, molecular diagnostics and laboratory automation. The company’s upbeat revenue forecast for 2024 reflects the ongoing transformative growth, which is highly encouraging.

Meanwhile, the contraction of both margins in the quarter does not bode well for the stock.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Bruker currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Intuitive Surgical (ISRG - Free Report) , Abbott Laboratories, Inc. (ABT - Free Report) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX - Free Report) .

Intuitive Surgical reported a third-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $1.78, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.3%. Revenues of $2.01 billion topped the consensus estimate by 2%. ISRG currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Intuitive Surgical has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 16.1% in 2024 compared with the industry’s 14.1%. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 8.97%.

Abbott, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reported third-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.14, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.6%. Revenues of $10.38 billion topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.3%. 

ABT has an estimated earnings growth rate of 10.1% for 2025 compared       with the S&P 500’s 9.3%. The company surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 2.34%.

Quest Diagnostics, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, reported a third-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.35, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.7%. Revenues of $2.40 billion exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5%.

DGX’s historical five-year earnings growth rate of 7.4% compared favorably with the industry’s 4.2%. The company surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 3.31%.

Published in