Acuity Brands Stock Trades In Red After Mixed Q1 Earnings: Retail Rejoices Higher-Than-Expected Revenue

The company reported a 1.8% year-over-year (YoY) rise in revenue to $951.6 million beating an analyst estimate of $957.65 million. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $3.97, falling short of an estimate of $3.89.

Shares of industrial technology company Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI) traded in the red on Wednesday morning after the firm’s first-quarter revenue missed Wall Street estimates.

The company reported a 1.8% year-over-year (YoY) rise in revenue to $951.6 million beating an analyst estimate of $957.65 million. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $3.97, falling short of an estimate of $3.89.

Operating profit stood at $133.3 million, registering an increase of 0.3% compared to the prior year. Adjusted net income rose 8.1% YoY to $126.3 million during the quarter.

Segment-wise, Acuity Brands Lighting generated net sales of $886 million, registering a 1.1% rise over the same quarter a year ago. The Intelligent Spaces segment generated net sales of $73.5 million, an increase of $9.3 million, or 14.5% from the prior year.

The firm also completed the acquisition of QSC effective Jan. 1, 2025. The transaction will help expand Acuity's Intelligent Spaces into cloud-manageable audio, video, and control. The gross purchase price stood at $1.22 billion.

Following the earnings release, retail sentiment on Stocktwits climbed into the ‘extremely bullish’ territory (89/100) from ‘neutral’ a day ago. Retail chatter continued to remain ‘extremely high.’

One user believes the stock could dip below the $300 mark.

On Tuesday, Wells Fargo analyst Joseph O'Dea lowered the firm's price target on Acuity Brands to $320 from $330 while keeping an ‘Equal Weight’ rating. The lowered price target still reflects a 6% upside for the stock from current levels.

AYI stock has gained over 47% over the past year.

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