Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at Titan Machinery (NASDAQ: TITN) and its peers.

Historically, specialty equipment distributors have boasted deep selection and expertise in sometimes narrow areas like single-use packaging or unique lighting equipment. Additionally, the industry has evolved to include more automated industrial equipment and machinery over the last decade, driving efficiencies and enabling valuable data collection. Specialty equipment distributors whose offerings keep up with these trends can take share in a still-fragmented market, but like the broader industrials sector, this space is at the whim of economic cycles that impact the capital spending and manufacturing propelling industry volumes.

The 10 specialty equipment distributors stocks we track reported a slower Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 9.6% on average since the latest earnings results.

Titan Machinery (NASDAQ: TITN)

Founded in 1980, Titan Machinery (NASDAQ: TITN) is a distributor of agricultural and construction equipment across the United States and Europe.

Titan Machinery reported revenues of $679.8 million, down 2.1% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.7%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

"Our third quarter results reflect a market cycle that is largely playing out as we anticipated within our domestic Agriculture segment," commented Bryan Knutson, Titan Machinery's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Interestingly, the stock is up 2.4% since reporting and currently trades at $15.78.

Is now the time to buy Titan Machinery? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q3: Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL)

Founded in 1947, Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL) is a distributor of power grid and microwave tubes as well as consumables related to those products.

Richardson Electronics reported revenues of $53.73 million, up 2.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 8.7%. The business had an incredible quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates.

Richardson Electronics delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 10.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $14.29.

Is now the time to buy Richardson Electronics? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: Alta (NYSE: ALTG)

Founded in 1984, Alta Equipment Group (NYSE: ALTG) is a provider of industrial and construction equipment and services across the Midwest and Northeast United States.

Alta reported revenues of $448.8 million, down 3.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 6.5%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted and a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Alta delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 3.6% since the results and currently trades at $7.74.

Read our full analysis of Alta’s results here.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ: KRT)

Founded as Lollicup, Karat Packaging (NASDAQ: KRT) distributes and manufactures environmentally-friendly disposable foodservice packaging solutions.

Karat Packaging reported revenues of $112.8 million, up 6.9% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. However, it was a disappointing quarter as it produced a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Karat Packaging scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 3.8% since reporting and currently trades at $30.46.

Read our full, actionable report on Karat Packaging here, it’s free.

Herc (NYSE: HRI)

Formerly a subsidiary of Hertz Corporation and with a logo that still bears some similarities to its former parent, Herc Holdings (NYSE: HRI) provides equipment rental and related services to a wide range of industries.

Herc reported revenues of $965 million, up 6.3% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 3.6%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts’ Equipment rentals revenue estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance slightly topping analysts’ expectations.

The stock is up 35.8% since reporting and currently trades at $229.75.

Read our full, actionable report on Herc here, it’s free.

Market Update

The Fed’s interest rate hikes throughout 2022 and 2023 have successfully cooled post-pandemic inflation, bringing it closer to the 2% target. Inflationary pressures have eased without tipping the economy into a recession, suggesting a soft landing. This stability, paired with recent rate cuts (0.5% in September 2024 and 0.25% in November 2024), has fueled a strong year for the stock market in 2024. The markets surged further after Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November, with major indices reaching record highs in the days following the election. Still, questions remain about the direction of economic policy, as potential tariffs and corporate tax changes add uncertainty heading into 2025.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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