Ball Corporation BALL is scheduled to report first-quarter 2023 results on May 4, before the opening bell.
Q4 Performance
In the last reported quarter, Ball Corp’s earnings and revenues declined year over year. While revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, earnings missed the same. Over the trailing four quarters, BALL missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all four of the quarters, the average surprise being a negative 9%.
Q1 Estimates
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BALL’s first-quarter earnings per share is pegged at 49 cents, suggesting a decline of 36.4% from the prior-year quarter’s reported levels. The estimates have moved south by 4.1% over the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total sales is pegged at $3.6 billion, indicating a year-over-year decline of 3.1%.
Ball Corp has lately witnessed weaker-than-expected demand, as customer spending has been muted amid higher retail prices, particularly in the United States. This is likely to get reflected in the company’s first-quarter performance. High input and labor costs due to supply constraints are anticipated to have impacted the company’s performance in the quarter.
Higher-than-expected start-up costs, stemming from capacity-expansion measures, are likely to have dented the margin performance. BALL has been focused on improving its efficiency and reducing costs, which is likely to have negated these impacts and boosted margins in the to-be-reported quarter.
Due to weak demand, the company recently announced the closure of its aluminum beverage can manufacturing facilities in Phoenix, AZ, and St. Paul, MN. The Phoenix facility ceased production in the fourth quarter of 2022. The closure of the Phoenix facility is likely to have impacted the performance of the Beverage Packaging, North and Central America segment in the to-be-reported quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Beverage packaging, North and Central America segment net sales is pegged at $1,545 million for the March-end quarter, indicating a 9% year-over-year decline. The segmental operating income is estimated at $153 million, whereas it reported $174 million in the prior-year quarter. The segment’s performance is expected to have been impacted by the weakness in demand as mentioned above, and inflated raw material and manufacturing costs.
The Beverage Packaging, EMEA segment’s first-quarter 2023 results will likely reflect the impacts of higher inflation, energy costs and supply-chain disruptions across the region, as well as the sale of the Russia aluminum beverage packaging business.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Beverage packaging, South America segment’s net sales is pegged at $600 million, suggesting 14.2% growth from the year-ago period’s reported levels. The segment’s operating income is pegged at $57 million, suggesting a 26.9% decline from the prior-year quarter’s reported level of $78 million.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Beverage packaging, Europe segment’s sales is pinned at $736 million for the to-be-reported quarter, indicating a 21.8% drop from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. The segment’s operating income is projected at $64 million, suggesting a 36% year-over-year plunge. Elevated costs are likely to have impacted the segment’s profits in the quarter under review.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Aerospace segment's revenues is pegged at $524 million for the period under discussion, indicating a year-over-year improvement of 4%. The segment’s operating income is projected at $48.18 million, suggesting 12% growth from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.
What the Zacks Model Unveils
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Ball Corp this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Earnings ESP: BALL has an Earnings ESP of -4.55%.
Zacks Rank: Currently, the company carries a Zacks Rank of 3.
Price Performance
Shares of Ball Corp have fallen 34% in the past year compared with the industry's 25.5% decline.
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Stocks to Consider
Here are some Industrial Products stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in their upcoming releases.
Ingersoll Rand Inc. IR is scheduled to report first-quarter 2023 results on May 3. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.32% and currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2023 earnings is pegged at 52 cents per share. This suggests year-over-year growth of 6.1%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IR’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $1.5 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 10.7%. IR has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.5%, on average.
Johnson Controls International plc JCI is set to release its second-quarter 2023 results on May 5. AOS currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.02% and a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2023 earnings is pegged at 73 cents per share, suggesting 15.9% year-over-year growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JCI’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $6.5 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of 6.1%. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 0.7%, on average.
Illinois Tool Works ITW is scheduled to report first-quarter 2023 results on May 2. The company currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.05% and a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2023 earnings is pegged at $2.19 per share. This suggests year-over-year growth of 3.8%
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $4 billion, indicating growth of 0.6% from the prior-year quarter’s reported level. ITW has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 0.9%, on average.
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