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Autoliv Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations, Sales Decline Y/Y

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Autoliv Inc. (ALV - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $3.05 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.83 but declined 19% year over year. The company reported net sales of $2.62 billion in the quarter, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.71 million and fell 4.9% year over year.

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Organic sales fell 3.3% year over year and missed our estimate of a decline of 1% due to a negative regional and model light vehicle production mix. Autoliv reported adjusted operating income of $349 million, up 4.7% year over year. Adjusted operating margin was 13.4%, higher than 12.1% in the year-ago period due to the higher gross profit and lower costs for research, development and engineering.

Autoliv, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Autoliv, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Autoliv, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Autoliv, Inc. Quote

Segmental Performance

Sales in the Airbags and Associated Products segment totaled $1.76 billion, lagging our projection of $1.95 billion. Revenues also fell 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. The major categories within the segment that reported a decline in organic sales include steering wheels, passenger airbags, driver airbags and knee airbags.

Sales in the Seatbelts and Associated Products segment totaled $856 million, down 3.5% from the prior-year quarter due to the decline in organic sales in China and Europe. The metric, however, surpassed our projection of $754.9 million. 

Region-wise, overall sales in the Americas during the quarter under review totaled $786 million, which missed our estimate of $800.2 million and decreased 8.7% year over year.

Sales in Europe totaled $715 million, which missed our forecast of $782.7 million and decreased 5.3% year over year.

Sales in China came in at $587 million, missing our projection of $606.1 million and fell 4.8% year over year.

Sales in the Rest of Asia totaled $527 million, which increased 1.7% year over year and topped our projection of $512.1 million.

Financial Position

Autoliv had cash and cash equivalents of $330 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. Long-term debt totaled $1.52 billion. Operating cash flow in the quarter under review was $420 million and capital expenditure amounted to $132 million, resulting in a free cash flow of $288 million. In the quarter, ALV paid a dividend of 70 cents per share and repurchased 1.04 million shares.

ALV Provides 2025 Guidance

The company forecasts 2025 organic sales growth of around 2% compared with 0.4% reported in 2024. The adjusted operating margin is anticipated to be in the range of 10-10.5%. Operating cash flow is expected to be $1.2 billion in 2025.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

ALV carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (GELYY - Free Report) , Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (ALSN - Free Report) and Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMHAY - Free Report) . While GELYY & ALSN sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each, YMHAY carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GELYY’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 66.62% and 149.31%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have improved by 15 cents and 38 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALSN’s 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 6.67% and 11.40%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 have improved 3 cents in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for YMHAY’s 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 8.69%and 19.07%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 have improved by a penny in the past 60 days.

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