The news driving Johnson Controls(NYSE: JCI) stock well higher on Wednesday was glaringly positive. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) specialist reported its fiscal fourth quarter of 2024 results, and on the better-than-expected results, investors eagerly bought into the stock. It rose by just shy of 9% in price that day, a performance more than good enough to beat the S&P 500 index's 2.5% increase.
A good way to close out the fiscal year
In the quarter, Johnson Controls managed to boost its sales by 7% year over year; they landed at $7.4 billion. Non-GAAP (adjusted) net income saw a much more dynamic rise, improving by 19% to $858 million, or $1.28 per share.
That meant a double beat for the very specialized industrial company. The consensus analyst estimate for revenue was a touch over $7.3 billion, and that for adjusted profitability was $1.24 per share.
Johnson controls put a bow on its fiscal 2024 by quoting CEO George Oliver as saying that the company "is entering fiscal 2025 with momentum. Backlog is at record levels and we are well positioned to deliver continued profitable top line growth."
"Importantly, the actions taken during the year to simplify our portfolio are allowing us to focus our resources on expanding Johnson Controls as a leading pure-play building solutions provider," he added.
Growth is in the cards, says management
Oliver and his management team are fully expecting that momentum to boost the fundamentals. They proffered guidance for both the current first quarter and the entirety of fiscal 2025. For the former, the expectation is for organic sales growth in the mid-single-digit percentages, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) coming in at around $0.57 to $0.60 per share.
Those estimates for the full year are similar for organic sales, while Johnson Controls anticipates booking adjusted EPS of roughly $3.40 to $3.50.
The company is an interesting, somewhat sleeper play on the continuing growth of data centers, essential to the functioning of computer networks. All need reliable HVAC solutions, and this company is adept at providing them.
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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Johnson Controls International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
