Q4 Earnings Highs And Lows: AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Vs The Rest Of The Commercial Building Products Stocks

As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the commercial building products industry, including AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) and its peers.

Commercial building products companies, which often serve more complicated projects, can supplement their core business with higher-margin installation and consulting services revenues. More recently, advances to address labor availability and job site productivity have spurred innovation. Additionally, companies in the space that can produce more energy-efficient materials have opportunities to take share. However, these companies are at the whim of commercial construction volumes, which tend to be cyclical and can be impacted heavily by economic factors such as interest rates. Additionally, the costs of raw materials can be driven by a myriad of worldwide factors and greatly influence the profitability of commercial building products companies.

The 5 commercial building products stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.2%.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ)

Responsible for projects like nuclear facilities, AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) is a provider of metal coating and power infrastructure solutions.

AZZ reported revenues of $425.7 million, up 5.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and full-year revenue guidance slightly topping analysts’ expectations.

Interestingly, the stock is up 13% since reporting and currently trades at $124.14.

We think AZZ is a good business, but is it a buy today? Read our full report here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI)

Founded after patenting the electric room thermostat, Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) specializes in building products and technology solutions, including HVAC systems, fire and security systems, and energy storage.

Johnson Controls reported revenues of $5.80 billion, up 6.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 6.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $131.82.

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

Weakest Q4: Apogee (NASDAQ:APOG)

Involved in the design of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, Apogee (NASDAQ:APOG) sells architectural products and services such as high-performance glass for commercial buildings.

Apogee reported revenues of $348.6 million, up 2.1% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. It was a slower quarter as it posted full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and a miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Apogee delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The stock is flat since the results and currently trades at $37.00.

Read our full analysis of Apogee’s results here.

Insteel (NYSE:IIIN)

Growing from a small wire manufacturer to one of the largest in the U.S., Insteel (NYSE:IIIN) provides steel wire reinforcing products for concrete.

Insteel reported revenues of $159.9 million, up 23.3% year on year. This result came in 1.3% below analysts' expectations. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Insteel achieved the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $34.00.

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

Janus (NYSE:JBI)

Standing out with its digital keyless entry into self-storage room technology, Janus (NYSE:JBI) is a provider of easily accessible self-storage solutions.

Janus reported revenues of $226.3 million, down 1.9% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 4.6%. Zooming out, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Janus scored the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise, but had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 21.8% since reporting and currently trades at $5.33.

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

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