What Happened?
Shares of resource management provider Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) fell 8.3% in the afternoon session after the company reported third-quarter results that showed a year-over-year decline in both earnings and revenue, prompting an analyst downgrade. Although Itron's earnings per share of $1.54 beat analysts' expectations, the figure represented a 16.3% drop compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Revenue also fell to $581.6 million from $615.5 million a year earlier. The company attributed the decline to portfolio optimization efforts and the timing of project implementations, with other reports noting deployment delays and regulatory hurdles. Adding to the pressure on the stock, Baird downgraded Itron from "Outperform" to "Neutral." The analyst also adjusted the price target for the shares downward to $118.00 from $137.00.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Itron’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 8 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock dropped 13.4% on the news that the company's weak fourth-quarter outlook overshadowed its third-quarter results. Itron reported mixed results for the third quarter. While its revenue of $581.6 million and adjusted earnings per share of $1.54 both surpassed Wall Street's expectations, sales declined by 5.5% compared to the same period last year. Despite the quarterly beats, the company's forward guidance spooked investors. Management's revenue forecast for the fourth quarter was $560 million at the midpoint, coming in 4.4% below analysts' estimates of $586 million. This weaker-than-expected outlook, which suggests potential demand challenges, appeared to be the primary driver of the sell-off, overshadowing a raise in the company's full-year adjusted EPS guidance.
Itron is down 7.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $100.69 per share, it is trading 27.3% below its 52-week high of $138.42 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Itron’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,498.
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