Heico Stock Tumbles On Mixed Q4 Earnings: Retail Chatter Hits 7-Month High

Shares of Heico Corp (HEI) tumbled nearly 9% on Wednesday after the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings.

Heico is a technology-driven aerospace, industrial, defense and electronics company. Its products are found on large commercial aircraft, regional, business and military aircraft, as well as on a large variety of industrial turbines, targeting systems, missiles and electro-optical devices.

The firm’s net sales rose 8% year-over-year (YoY) to $1.013 billion during the fourth quarter, compared to a Wall Street estimate of $1.03 billion as per FinChat. However, earnings per share stood at $0.99, versus an analyst estimate of $0.98.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased 13% to $264 million in the fourth quarter (Q4), up from $234.2 million in the same period a year ago. Net income increased 35% to a record $139.7 million in Q4, up from $103.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

However, the firm clarified that it had incurred acquisition costs during Q4 2023 related to the Wencor Group acquisition, which decreased net income attributable to HEICO by approximately $13.6 million.

The firm’s board of directors declared a semiannual cash dividend of $0.11 per share payable in January 2025.

For fiscal 2025, the firm anticipates net sales growth in both the Flight Support Group and Electronic Technologies Group, driven primarily by organic growth.

Heico said that its Flight Support Group's net sales rose 15% to a record $691.8 million in Q4 2024, up from $601.7 million in Q4 2023. Meanwhile, Electronic Technologies Group's net sales stood at $336.2 million in Q4 2024 compared to $342.5 million in Q4 2023.

Following the announcement, retail sentiment on Stocktwits jumped into the ‘bullish’ territory (61/100) from ‘bearish’ a day ago. The move was accompanied by ‘extremely high’ message volume (95/100) that hit a seven-month high.

Heico’s Sentiment Meter and Message Volume as of 11:43 a.m. ET on Dec. 18, 2024 | Source: Stocktwits

However, retail chatter on the platform indicated a pessimistic view of the stock.

Despite Wednesday’s decline, Heico shares are up over 33% on a year-to-date basis.

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