Jabil (NYSE:JBL) stock gained about 19% yesterday following the company’s better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. Furthermore, JBL provided a strong earnings outlook and increased share repurchase authorization.
Jabil is a global manufacturing solutions provider known for its expertise in electronics and healthcare manufacturing.
The company’s adjusted earnings per share of $2.45 in the fiscal fourth quarter exceeded the Street’s expectations of $2.32 per share and compared favorably with $2.34 reported in the same quarter last year.
Meanwhile, Jabil’s Q4 net revenues declined 6.3% year-over-year to $8.46 billion and missed analysts’ expectations of $8.54 billion. The company’s Diversified Manufacturing Services (DMS) segment revenue remained steady compared to the same period last year, while Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) sales declined by 13%.
Additionally, the company’s board of directors approved an increase in its share repurchase program to up to $2.5 billion. As of August 31, 2023, there was $776 million outstanding in the repurchase program.
Fiscal Q1 and 2024 Outlook
JBL is optimistic about its performance in Fiscal Year 2024, citing strong multi-year tailwinds in several sectors, including electric vehicles (EVs), AI cloud data centers and healthcare. Total revenue is anticipated to be between $33 billion and $34 billion.
For the fiscal first quarter, the company expects revenue to be in the range of $8.4 billion to $9 billion, along with adjusted earnings per share of $2.40 to $2.80.
Is JBL Stock a Buy?
Currently, Wall Street is highly optimistic about the company’s growth prospects. JBL stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating based on five unanimous Buys. Currently, the average price target of $122.20 implies a downside potential of 2.2% from the current level. However, it’s worth mentioning that these price targets may not have been updated to reflect the recent impressive rally in the stock.
Investors looking for the most accurate forecast regarding the performance of JBL stock over the past year may turn to Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney. It is noteworthy that copying the analyst’s trades and holding each position for a year would yield an average return of 20.81% per trade and an overall success rate of 82%.
