Santa Rosa, California-based Keysight Technologies, Inc. (KEYS) provides electronic design and test solutions to a wide range of industries, including commercial communications, networking, aerospace, defense and government, automotive, energy, semiconductor, electronic and education. The company, which has a market capitalization of $28.7 billion, is expected to announce its fiscal Q1 earnings results on Tuesday, February 18.
Ahead of the event, analysts expected the software company to post a profit of $1.49 per share, up 11.2% from $1.34 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has beaten Wall Street earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters, while falling short on one other occasion. For Q4 2024, Keysight’s EPS of $1.50 beat the consensus estimate by a solid margin of 6.4%.
For fiscal year 2025, analysts expect KEYS to report EPS of $6.51, up 19.7% from $5.44 in fiscal year 2024.
KEYS shares are up 10.6% over the past 52 weeks, which underperforms both the S&P 500 Index ($SPX)’s 26.5% return and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK)’s 22.1% return over the same time frame .
KEYS shares rose 8.8% the next day following the release of Q4 earnings on November 19. The company delivered better-than-expected Q4 adjusted earnings of $1.65 per share and revenue of $1.3 billion. However, the top-line declined 1.5% from the year-ago quarter, while the bottom-line figure fell 17.1% year-on-year.
A 1.4% year-on-year growth in orders and 8% sequential growth in orders led by strength in AI and strong year-end bookings in the US aerospace, defense and government business may further boost investor confidence. Additionally, management expressed confidence that its differentiated portfolio, deep customer engagement and its focus on continued technology innovation position it to outperform as the market improves.
Wall Street analysts are overall bullish about Keysight Technologies’ stock, with an overall “Strong Buy” rating. Of the 11 analysts covering the stock, nine have recommended a “strong buy”, one has suggested a “moderate buy” and one has indicated a “moderate sell” rating. This configuration is more bullish than three months ago, with seven analysts suggesting a “strong buy”.
The average price target for KEYS is $181.50, suggesting a modest 9.5% potential upside from current levels.
On the date of publication, Neharika Jain did not have (directly or indirectly) any positions in any securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is for informational purposes only. Please see the Barchart Disclosure Policy here for more information.
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