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Will Fitbit's (FIT) Q4 Earnings Benefit From New Products?

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Fitbit Inc. is set to report fourth-quarter 2017 results on Feb 26. Last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 66.7%.

Notably, Fitbit's results surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the four trailing quarters. It has an average four-quarter positive surprise of 28.3%.

The company's shares have lost 8% in the past 12 months, underperforming the industry’s gain of 20.4%.

 

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Fitbit’s Initiatives to Drive growth

The company has been introducing new products to increase its revenue base. Its focus on health and wellness should help the company to drive revenues in the quarter under review. Though Fitbit has incurred loss in the past quarters, the global wearables market is expected to improve at a compound annual growth rate of 18.4% through 2021, hitting 222.3 million devices according to IDC. Growth in the wearables market will help the company improve its top-line  figures.

Also, Fitbit is taking other initiatives that are expected to pull out the company from slow growth. These steps include offering a streamlined set of products, improving software and providing personalized services to customers along with achieving greater integration into the healthcare ecosystem. In this regard, the company recently announced plans to acquire Twine Health, a health coaching platform. This will further expand its share in the healthcare business, thereby increasing its subscription-based revenues.

For the fourth quarter of 2017, Fitbit expects revenues to remain in the range of $570-$600 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $587.03 million.

Increasing Competition

Despite the wide range of devices Fitbit provides at different price points, it faces competition in both its high and low-end products. At the high end, there is Apple’s multi-functional Apple Watch. Also, other big manufacturers are developing connected devices on Alphabet-owned Google's Android operating system. At the lower end, there are fitness-tracking devices from competitors such as Jawbone and Garmin, which also pose it strong competition.

What Our Model Says

According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP. Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) are best avoided.

Fitbithas a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +100.0%, indicating a likely positive earnings surprise. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Fitbit, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

Fitbit, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Fitbit, Inc. Quote

 

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are a few other stocks you may want to consider, as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT - Free Report) , with an Earnings ESP of +2.06% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Newfield Exploration Company , with an Earnings ESP of +3.70% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD - Free Report) , with an Earnings ESP of +8.72% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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