SerpApi.Org
Badger Meter (NYSE: BMI) shares fell more than ~14% to ~$125.22 on Wednesday after the company reported mixed second-quarter results.
The company reported Q2 GAAP EPS of $1.02, beating estimates by $0.01, while revenue of $222.3M beat consensus by $1.24M. However, revenue fell 6.6% YoY from $238.1M, while diluted EPS declined from $1.17 a year earlier.
The weaker YoY performance, along with lower profitability, appeared to weigh on investor sentiment.
Key Q2 highlights that might have weighed on stocks market performance include:
- Operating earnings fell 12% to $39.4M, while the operating margin narrowed to 17.7% from 18.8% a year ago.
- Base operating earnings declined 9% to $40.6M, with the base operating margin at 18.4%.
- Gross margin slipped to 40.8% from 41.1%, though it remained within the company's normalized 39%-42% range.
- Utility water sales declined 8% YoY, reflecting the uneven rollout of AMI projects, partially offset by stronger software and BlueEdge solutions.
However, CEO Kenneth C. Bockhorst said second-quarter results reflected improving order rates from the first quarter as certain awarded utility water projects began initial deployment.
He added that the company expects revenue to improve further in the second half of 2026 as more projects move into deployment, while full-year revenue, excluding acquisitions, is expected to be roughly flat compared with 2025, while reaffirming its long-term high-single-digit growth target.
On the market side, Badger Meter shares have fallen 20.51% on a YTD basis, sharply underperforming the S&P 500 (SP500)'s 9.70% gain.
For now, Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating remains Hold with a 2.66 score, while Wall Street continues to maintain a Buy rating with a 3.69 score.
