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Agilent (A) Reliance on International Sales: What Investors Need to Know

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Have you assessed how the international operations of Agilent Technologies (A - Free Report) performed in the quarter ended July 2024? For this scientific instrument maker, possessing an expansive global footprint, parsing the trends of international revenues could be critical to gauge its financial resilience and growth prospects.

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.

International market involvement serves as insurance against economic downturns at home and enables engagement with economies that are growing more quickly. Still, this move toward diversification is not without its challenges, as it involves navigating through the fluctuations of currencies, geopolitical threats, and the distinctive nature of various markets.

Upon examining A's recent quarterly performance, we noticed several interesting patterns in the revenue generated from its international segments, which are commonly analyzed and observed by Wall Street experts.

The company's total revenue for the quarter amounted to $1.58 billion, showing decrease of 5.6%. We will now explore the breakdown of A's overseas revenue to assess the impact of its international operations.

A Dive into A's International Revenue Trends

During the quarter, Asia Pacific contributed $520 million in revenue, making up 33.0% of the total revenue. When compared to the consensus estimate of $557.91 million, this meant a surprise of -6.8%. Looking back, Asia Pacific contributed $510 million, or 32.4%, in the previous quarter, and $573 million, or 34.3%, in the same quarter of the previous year.

Of the total revenue, $432 million came from Europe during the last fiscal quarter, accounting for 27.4%. This represented a surprise of +8.37% as analysts had expected the region to contribute $398.64 million to the total revenue. In comparison, the region contributed $426 million, or 27.1%, and $432 million, or 25.8%, to total revenue in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively.

International Market Revenue Projections

The current fiscal quarter's total revenue for Agilent, as projected by Wall Street analysts, is expected to reach $1.67 billion, reflecting a decline of 0.9% from the same quarter last year. The breakdown of this revenue by foreign region is as follows: Asia Pacific is anticipated to contribute 35.7% or $597.52 million and Europe 24.5% or $409.47 million.

For the entire year, the company's total revenue is forecasted to be $6.48 billion, which is a reduction of 5.2% from the previous year. The revenue contributions from different regions are expected as follows: Asia Pacific will contribute 34.5% ($2.24 billion) and Europe 26.1% ($1.69 billion) to the total revenue.

Closing Remarks

The dependency of Agilent on global markets for its revenues presents a mix of potential gains and hazards. Thus, monitoring the trends in its overseas revenues can be a key indicator for predicting the firm's future performance.

In a world where international interdependencies and geopolitical conflicts are ever-increasing, Wall Street analysts closely monitor these trends for companies having international presence to adjust their earnings forecasts. Of course, there are several other factors, including a company's standing within its home borders, that influence analysts' earnings forecasts.

Emphasizing a company's shifting earnings prospects is a key aspect of our approach at Zacks, especially since research has proven its substantial influence on a stock's price in the short run. This correlation is positively aligned, meaning that improved earnings projections tend to boost the stock's price.

The Zacks Rank, our proprietary stock rating mechanism, demonstrates a notable performance history confirmed through external audits. It effectively utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions to act as a predictor of a stock's price performance in the near term.

Agilent, bearing a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is expected to mirror the broader market's movements in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Examining the Latest Trends in Agilent's Stock Value

The stock has increased by 2.6% over the past month compared to the 1.5% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite. Meanwhile, the Zacks Computer and Technology sector, which includes Agilent, has decreased 1% during this time frame. Over the past three months, the company's shares have experienced a gain of 8% relative to the S&P 500's 7.2% increase. Throughout this period, the sector overall has witnessed a 5.9% increase.

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