iRobot (IRBT) reported earnings on Thur 8 Feb 18 (b/o)

iRobot Corporation is an American advanced technology company founded in 1990 by three MIT graduates who designed robots for space exploration and military defense.
Headquarters: Bedford, MA

• irobot.com
• Feb. 6 (Tue): #15; vol. 1.3M  -->  -30%

** charts after earnings **

 

iRobot beats by $0.24, beats on revs; guides FY18 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus

• Reports Q4 (Dec) adj. earnings of $0.54 per share, $0.24 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 53.9% year/year to $327 mln vs the $319.02 mln Capital IQ Consensus. Fourth-quarter consumer revenue grew 47% in the United States, 34% in Japan and more than doubled in EMEA, in each case over Q4 2016.
• Co issues mixed guidance for FY18, sees EPS of $2.10-2.35 vs. $2.81 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY18 revs of $1.05-1.08 bln vs. $1.02 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "Further, the global RVC category grew more than 25% in 2017, and we expect category growth to continue as we and competitors invest to drive awareness. And, we have seen retailers in the United States increasingly embracing and promoting the category through national advertising programs featuring RVCs, as well as allocating increased shelf space and investing in high-visibility displays. "These are the growth drivers we see for Roomba, but we believe there is also a great opportunity to drive adoption of our Braava products through campaigns targeted at our millions of Roomba customers. "There is a lot to be excited about. 2017 was a critical year for iRobot as the first full year focused solely on developing and delivering products for the home. We delivered outstanding financial results for the year while successfully executing the acquisition of two major distributors in key markets and extending our control over 75% of our global revenue. "In 2018, we plan to capitalize on the incremental investments we made in 2017 with the introduction of new products in the second half of the year. We expect double-digit revenue growth in all regions as we continue to evolve and extend our proven sales and marketing initiatives in overseas markets. In the U.S., we expect continued strong sales following our 40+% growth in 2017."