MSC Industrial beats on Q4 profit, guides to faster sales growth in new fiscal year
Fourth-quarter revenue of $1.08 billion matched Wall Street forecasts
Published
MSC Industrial reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.45, two cents ahead of analyst estimates. Revenue came in at $1.08 billion, in line with expectations.
Chief executive Martina McIsaac said the results beat the company's own expectations, pointing to core customer growth of about 10%, the fastest pace in more than three years, and accelerating growth in National Accounts.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, MSC expects average daily sales growth of 9.5% to 10.5% year over year, with adjusted operating margin of 9.5% to 10.1%. For the full fiscal year, the company projects depreciation and amortization of about $100 million to $105 million, interest and other expense of about $40 million to $45 million, capital expenditures of about $90 million to $100 million, free cash flow conversion of about 80% to 90%, and an effective tax rate of about 24.5% to 25.5%.
The earnings beat was narrow, which puts more weight on the outlook. Management linked the quarter's strength to core customer growth running at its fastest pace in more than three years and to National Accounts gains, and the new guidance will show whether that momentum carries into fiscal 2027.
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