A.O. Smith reports Q3 EPS 82c, consensus 83c

Reports Q3 revenue $902.6M, consensus $904.73M. “As we announced in our October 11 press release, our China sales and North America water heater volumes were lower than we expected in the third quarter. Consumer demand headwinds in China and pre-buy and lead-time-driven order demand softness in North America persisted through the quarter and led to lower than expected sales and profitability,” noted Kevin Wheeler, chairman and chief executive officer. “While our China and North America water heater businesses were challenged in the quarter, I am pleased with the performance of other parts of our business, particularly the double-digit sales growth in commercial boilers and North America water treatment.”