Rockwell’s strong earnings signal health of U.S. factories

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Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) on Thursday reported a 15% gain in profit from a year earlier, handily beating Wall Street’s estimates. The stock rose as much as 5.8% to $294.21 a share, within a few dollars of its 52-week high of $297.53.

The strong earnings growth for the industrial automation company is one sign that the United States is getting a boost from companies that are shifting factory production back to its shores to help ease supply-chain constraints.

The company reported adjusted EPS of $2.46, compared with the consensus estimate for $1.87, for fiscal Q1 2023. Revenue rose 6.5% to $1.98 billion, beating the average estimate of $1.92 billion among 15 analysts surveyed.

“In addition to a gradually improving supply chain environment, we are encouraged by the continued strength of our customers’ demand across all business segments and regions,” Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell, said in a statement.

The company raised its full-year estimate of adjusted EPS from a range of $9.54 to $10.34 to a span of $10.99 to $11.79.

Rockwell (ROK) also raised its estimates of yearly sales growth from a range of 7.5% to 11% to a span of 10% to 14%. It also lifted its guidance for organic sales growth, which excludes the effects of acquisitions, from a range of 9% to 13% to a scope of 11% to 15%.

"Automation has never been more important in solving our customers’ greatest challenges, and Rockwell is front and center as a trusted partner in these dynamic times,” Moret said. “We look forward to another year of delivering strong growth and new customer value."

The company bought back about 600,000 shares of common stock at a cost of $156 million during the quarter, leaving $1.1 billion in its repurchase authorization at the end of December.