Gentex Q3 Earnings Beat, But CEO Issues Warning Of Potential Q4 Downturn Due To UAW Strikes; Shares Fall

Gentex Corporation GNTX reported third-quarter FY23 sales growth of 17% year-on-year to $575.85 million, beating the analyst consensus of $566.22 million. EPS of $0.45 beat the analyst consensus of $0.44.

In the third quarter of 2023, automotive net sales were $564.5 million, a 17% increase Y/Y. Auto-dimming mirror unit shipments increased by 10%.

Global light vehicle production in North America, Europe, Japan/Korea, and China increased by approximately 5% compared to the third quarter of 2022.

The gross profit margin of 33.2% expanded 340 basis points  Y/Y due to higher sales levels, improvements in freight and tariff-related costs, cost recoveries and price increases from customers, and improvements in product mix.

Operating expenses rose by 14% to $69.0 million. Operating income for Q3 was $122.4 million, a 41% increase Y/Y.

During the third quarter of 2023, the company repurchased 0.8 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $32.41 per share.

The company held $278 million in cash and equivalents as of September 30, 2023.

Gentex CEO Steve Downing said, "Obviously, I am very pleased with the progress made so far in calendar year 2023, but we still have an incredible amount of work to do in the fourth quarter of this year and in 2024 in order to accomplish our goal of achieving a gross margin of 35% - 36% by the end of next year."

Outlook: Gentex reiterated FY23 revenue of about $2.2 billion - $2.3 billion (consensus $2.21 billion). It expects FY23 gross margin of 32.5% - 33%.

The company still expects calendar year 2024 revenue of approximately $2.45 billion - $2.55 billion (Consensus: $2.51 billion).

"The fourth quarter will likely be impacted by the UAW strikes from both a revenue and margin perspective, but we remain confident in our ability to continue to grow revenue, while improving our margin profile throughout the end of this year and into 2024," Downing added.

Price Action: GNTX shares are trading lower by 6.16% at $28.50 on the last check Friday.