-=Axon (AAXN) reported earnings on Tue 26 Feb 19 (a/h)

Axon misses by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs below consensus; guides FY19 revs above consensus

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.08 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 21.3% year/year to $114.79 mln vs the $104.03 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.
• Gross margin of 56.9% includes 360 basis points of impact related to costs associated with Vievu and a related large domestic customer contract. Q4 2018 gross margin was also affected by startup costs associated with initial production of TASER 7.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $109-110 mln (+8-9%) vs. $112.55 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus; In Q1 2019, co expects gross margins to be in the range of 61% to 63% and build higher over the rest of the year.
• Co issues upside guidance for FY19, sees FY19 revs of $480-490 mln vs. $476.70 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus; sees Adjusted EBITDA of $80 million to $85 million
  • Co expects to deliver significantly higher growth rates in the second half of 2019, driven by an anticipated pick up in TASER 7 shipments and initial Axon Body 3 shipments