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Flex's Q3 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Rise Y/Y, Stock Up

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Flex Ltd. (FLEX - Free Report) reported third-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 77 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.3%. The bottom line compared favorably with 54 cents posted in the prior-year quarter.

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Revenues increased 2.1% year over year to $6.6 billion. Also, it beat the consensus mark by 5.5%. The uptick was driven by strong demand across its data center, medical device and consumer-focused portfolios.

Flex Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Flex Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Flex Ltd. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Flex Ltd. Quote

In response to the better-than-anticipated results, shares were up 2.3% and closed the session at $41.51 on Jan. 29. In the past year, the stock has surged 74.9% against the industry’s decline of 27.5%.

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Segment Details

The Flex Reliability Solutions Group encompasses Health Solutions, Automotive and Industrial businesses. Revenues remained stable at $3 billion, as sustained strength in power and medical devices offset challenges in the automotive sector. The automotive industry continues to face difficulties due to persistent pressures from a weak macroeconomic environment.

The Flex Agility Solutions Group comprises Communications & Enterprise Compute or CEC and Lifestyle and Consumer Devices businesses. Revenues were up 4% to $3.6 billion. This uptick was driven by robust cloud and consumer-related end markets.

FLEX’s Operating Details

Management highlighted ongoing margin expansion, which was driven by a favorable mix and increased efficiency across both its business units.
Non-GAAP gross margin expanded 150 basis points (bps) year over year to 9.3% in the reported quarter.

Non-GAAP operating income came in at $399 million, up from the prior-year level of $314 million. Non-GAAP operating margin expanded 120 bps to 6.1%. This was fueled by robust gross margin performance and sustained cost efficiency.

The adjusted operating margins of the Flex Reliability Solutions Group were 6.7%, up 130 bps from the prior-year level. The adjusted operating margins of the Flex Agility Solutions Group improved 120 bps to 6.3%.

Selling, general & administrative expenses totaled $241 million, up 17.6% year over year.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

As of Dec. 31, 2024, cash & cash equivalents and long-term debt (net of current portion) were $2.31 billion and $3.15 billion, respectively, compared with $2.47 billion and $3.26 billion a year ago.

The company generated a third-quarter fiscal 2025 cash flow from operating activities of $413 million and an adjusted free cash flow of $306 million.
In the quarter, the company repurchased $200 million worth of stock, amounting to nearly 5.5 million shares. As of Dec. 31, 2024, FLEX repurchased shares worth $950 million.

Outlook

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Flex expects revenues to be between $6 billion and $6.4 billion. Management expects adjusted earnings of 65-73 cents per share, excluding 5 cents for net restructuring charges, 8 cents for stock-based compensation expense and 4 cents for net intangible amortization. Adjusted operating income is projected to be between $360 million and $400 million.

For the Reliability Solutions business, management forecasts sales to remain flat to down mid-single digits owing to softness in the automotive vertical. Agility Solutions’ revenues are anticipated to be flat to up mid-single digits, with steady growth expected in cloud markets.

Driven by consistent sturdy performance in a dynamic market, Flex now expects revenues to be between $25.4 billion and $25.8 billion for fiscal 2025. Earlier it projected revenues in the $24.9-$25.5 billion band.

It now anticipates adjusted earnings in the range of $2.57-$2.65 per share, excluding 28 cents for stock-based compensation expense, 15 cents for net intangible amortization and 12 cents for net restructuring charges. Earlier EPS projections ranged from $2.39 to $2.51.

FLEX’s Zacks Rank

Flex currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Companies

Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX - Free Report) reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings of $2.03 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.98%. The company reported non-GAAP earnings of 12 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

In the past year, STX shares has gained 16%.

Simulations Plus, Inc. (SLP - Free Report) reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings of 17 cents per share, which declined 5.6% year over year. The figure, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 18 cents per share.

Shares of SLP declined 10.8% in the past year.

BlackBerry Limited (BB - Free Report) reported the third-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of 2 cents. The figure was better than the company’s estimate of a loss of 1 cent to EPS of 1 cent. In the year-ago quarter, it reported a non-GAAP EPS of 1 cent.

Shares of BB gained 54.5% in the past year.

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