Emerson Electric Co. EMR reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 (ended Sept. 30, 2024) adjusted earnings of $1.48 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.47. The bottom line increased 15% year over year.

Emerson’s net sales of $4.62 billion beat the consensus estimate of $4.57 billion. The top line increased 13% year over year, driven by solid performance of the Intelligent Devices segment. The underlying sales were up 4% year over year.

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EMR’s Segmental Details

Effective from the first quarter of fiscal 2023, the company started reporting under two segments, namely Intelligent Devices and Software and Control Automation Solutions.

The Intelligent Devices segments’ net sales were $3.28 billion, up 4% year over year. Our estimate was $3.2 billion. The segment’s sales increased 5% year over year to $12.2 billion in fiscal 2024. The segment consists of four subgroups, namely Final Control, Measurement & Analytical, Discrete Automation and Safety & Productivity.

Final Control’s sales increased 8% year over year to $1.2 billion. Measurement & Analytical generated sales of $1.1 billion, up 7% year over year. Discrete Automation’s sales totaled $643 million, reflecting a decline of 3% on a year-over-year basis. Safety & Productivity’s sales decreased 1% year over year to $352 million.

The Software and Control Automation Solutions segment generated net sales of $1.4 billion, up 41% year over year. Our estimate was $1.4 billion. The segment consists of three subgroups, namely Control Systems & Software, AspenTech and Test & Measurement.

Control Systems & Software reported sales of $780 million, reflecting an increase of 9% year over year. AspenTech generated net sales of $215 million, down 13% year over year. Test & Measurement sales were $360 million.

Emerson Electric Co. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Emerson Electric Co. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Emerson Electric Co. Quote

Emerson’s Margin Details

The cost of sales increased 8.2% year over year to $2.2 billion. The pretax earnings margin was 14.7% compared with 24.9% in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITA margin was 24.6% compared with 24.2% in the year-earlier quarter. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 18% year over year to $1.3 billion.

EMR’s Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

Exiting the fiscal fourth quarter, Emerson had cash and cash equivalents of $3.6 billion compared with $8.1 billion at the end of fiscal 2023 (ended September 2023). Long-term debt was $7.2 billion compared with $7.6 billion at the end of fiscal 2023. In fiscal 2024, the company made a payment of long-term debt worth $547 million.

In the same period, the company generated net cash of $3.3 billion from operating activities, up 423% year over year. Capital expenditure was $419 million, up from $363 million in the year-ago period. Emerson paid out dividends of $1.2 million in the same period.