Symbolic (SYM.US) beats Q4 expectations, turns profitable

Symbolic (SYM.US) reported its fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, showing that the company's Q4 revenue was $577 million, up 47.1% YoY, exceeding expectations by $106 million, and the company achieved a profit after Q3 loss, with EPS of $0.05, exceeding market average expectations. The stock rose 28% before the US market opened after the report.

For the full year of 2024, Symbotic's revenue was $1.822 billion, up 55% YoY, and its net loss was $51 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $96 million.

The company expects its first-quarter revenue in 2025 to be between $495 million and $515 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $27 million to $31 million.

Carol Hibbard, CFO of Symbotic, said: "Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2025, we expect revenue to continue to grow strongly, with stable gross margins, while we make targeted investments to capture expanding opportunities."

The company also hopes to improve its gross margin performance throughout the year and return to modest profitability in its operating services. "In operating services, the gross margin has indeed slipped slightly due to the increased resources we have added to some large projects and the addition of new features," Hibbard said in a conference call with analysts after the earnings release.

The Symbotic stock has fallen 41% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 index has risen about 24%.

Among Wall Street analysts, 10 of the 17 recommend a strong buy, 4 recommend a hold, 2 recommend a buy, and 1 recommends a sell.