What Happened?
Shares of infrastructure and agriculture equipment manufacturer Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) jumped 13.8% in the afternoon session after the company reported strong fourth-quarter 2024 results, with revenue, EBITDA, and EPS all beating analysts' expectations. Sales grew 2.1% y/y, driven by strength in the Infrastructure segment, where pricing improvements and higher volumes in utility and telecommunications offsetting declines in solar sales. Profit margins expanded significantly, and this was a key factor in the EPS improvement and outperformance. However, full-year revenue guidance slightly missed expectations due to anticipated weakness in the Agriculture segment, while EPS guidance was in line. Overall, the results weren't perfect but were solid.
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What The Market Is Telling Us
Valmont’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. Moves this big are rare for Valmont and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 4 months ago when the stock gained 12% on the news that the company reported strong third-quarter results that exceeded analysts' adjusted EBITDA and EPS estimates. Revenue was in line as growth in the infrastructure segment was offset by weaknesses in the agricultural business. Overall, this quarter had some key positives.
Valmont is up 21.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $371.04 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Valmont’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,449.
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