Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) Reports Fourth-Quarter Earnings and Releases 2015 Guidance

Well it’s that time of year again, earnings season. Last week, 3D Systems reported their fourth-quarter 2014 earnings to investors who had been hoping for at least an inkling of good news. While their report was not spectacular, actually falling shy of what many analysts had expected, there was a glimmer of hope ignited in the fact that the company’s 2015 earnings guidance fell in line with what analysts had been expecting.

Today, the other major US-based 3D Printing company, Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS), has reported their fourth-quarter 2014 results. After their stock plunged over 30% following an earnings warning early last month, investors were looking for at least some good news to prop shares back up a bit.

This morning’s report from Stratasys had some positives and negatives in it. Overall though, it has finally provided investors with something to cheer about, at least for the time being. While analysts’ expectations were already set fairly low, thanks to the company’s February 3rd warning, their actual quarter-four earnings fell slightly below what the average analyst had expected. The Company reported non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.48, compared to an EPS of $0.49 that analysts had been expecting. The news gets better from their though.

Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $217 million, representing an increase of 40% over the same period in 2013, and beating analysts’ estimates of $215.83. MakerBot accounted for $26.6 million, or approximately 8.15% of total quarterly revenue. Additionally, the company’s 2015 earnings guidance comes in on the higher end of what analysts had been expecting. Stratasys sees full-year 2015 EPS coming in at around $2.07 – $2.24, while analysts had expected EPS guidance to come in at around $2.12. As for expected revenue this year, analysts’ numbers had predicted $950 million, which comes in right smack dab in the middle of Stratasys’ estimated $940 to $960 million figure.

“Growth in our core business reflects the increasing demand for additive manufacturing, and our leadership within the marketplace,” explained David Reis, CEO of Stratasys. During the fourth quarter, MakerBot was affected by challenges associated with the introduction and scaling of its new product platform and its rapidly evolving distribution model. As market adoption continues to evolve and to the extent MakerBot continues to establish and expand sales channels, the Company expects MakerBot growth rates to ramp up to, or exceed, overall Company averages by 2016.”

A few other interesting details from the report include the following:

• A total of 11,214 consumer and industrial scale 3D printers were sold during the forth quarter.
• EBITDA for the fourth quarter amounted to $29.6 million.
• $21.4 million was invested in the forth quarter for R&D, equating to 9.8% of net sales.
• Backlog at the end of 2014 was $14.3 million, versus $28.5 million at the end of 2013.
• Stratasys generated $14.9 million in cash for the quarter, bringing their total cash and cash equivalents to $443 million.

The market seems to like the news as the stock is currently trading in the pre-market up 4.33%, or $2.69. Let us know your thoughts on these numbers. Discuss in the Stratasys fourth-quarter 2014 forum thread on 3DPB.com.