Axon Enterprise's (AAXN) Q4 Earnings & Revenues Improve Y/Y

Axon Enterprise, Inc.’s AAXN fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings came in at 13 cents per share and increased year over year by a penny. The improvement was driven by higher sales and gross profit.

Excluding one-time items, the company incurred GAAP loss of 4 cents compared to earnings of 12 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Axon Enterprise, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Axon Enterprise, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Axon Enterprise, Inc. Quote

In 2017, the company generated adjusted earnings per share of 27 cents, up 15.6% from the prior-year figure of 32 cents.

Total Revenues

In the quarter, the company generated revenues of $94.7 million that improved 15.3% year over year. The upside can be attributed to higher sales at both the TASER Weapon and the Software and sensors segments.

Revenues from the TASER Weapons segment were up 10% year over year to $64.4 million. Also, the Software and sensors segment’s revenues surged 27% to $30.2 million.

Segment bookings declined 8.7% to $71.2 million as of Dec 31, 2017 from $78 million in the preceding quarter. On the contrary, bookings increased 1.9% year over year. Meanwhile, annual bookings improved 15% year over year to $291 million in 2017 compared with $254 million last year.

In 2017, the company generated revenues of $343.8 million that increased 28.2% year over year.

Highlights From the Quarter

Axon Enterprise's gross margin expanded 600 basis points year over year to 66.6% from 60.6% a year ago.

Total operating expenses increased 37.2% year over year to $55.4 million. The uptick was owing to higher sales, general and administrative expenses (up 28.9%), and research and development expenses (up 63.9%).

Financials

Axon Enterprise had cash and cash equivalents of $75.1 million as of Dec 31, 2017 compared with $40.7 million as of Dec 31, 2016.

Net cash flow from operating activities was $18.5 million in 2017 compared with cash inflow of $17.9 million at 2016-end. While free cash outflow was $3.5 million, cash inflow totaled $6 million a year ago.

Zacks Rank

Axon Enterprise carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Peer Releases

Allegion plc’s ALLE fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings came in at $1.11 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 94 cents. The bottom line also increased 37% from the prior-year quarter’s figure.

Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. FBHS kept its earnings streak alive in the fourth quarter of 2017, with earnings before charges/gains of 80 cents per share surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 79 cents by 1.3%. Also, the bottom line improved 13% from the year-ago tally of 71 cents.

Johnson Controls International JCI reported adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share in first-quarter fiscal 2018, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents.The bottom line inched up 2% from 53 cents per share in first-quarter fiscal 2017.

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