Mobileye, a provider of technology for advanced driver assistance systems, reported strong fourth-quarter numbers, and upbeat guidance.
Courtesy MobileEye
Car owners who want their vehicles to drive them around have been burned by years of overpromising by the auto industry. There are no truly self-driving cars. Autonomous-driving technology is getting better, though, and it’s being adopted by more auto makers.
Mobileye
Global’s earnings and earnings guidance is proof.
Thursday, the supplier of advanced driver assistance hardware and software reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter numbers.
Mobileye
(ticker: MBLY) announced adjusted earnings per share of 27 cents on sales of $565 million. Wall Street was looking for 17 cents a share on sales of $533 million.
For 2023, Mobileye expects to generate sales of $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion. Operating profit should be $580 million to $630 million. Currently, Wall Street is projecting sales of $2.2 billion, and operating profit of about $600 million. Analysts expects sales to hit $4 billion in 2025.
“Our fourth-quarter performance is an excellent example of how ramping volumes of our advanced solutions can impact financial performance, as higher average system price amplified strong volume growth, leading to 59% overall revenue growth,” said CEO Amnon Shashua in a news release. “As planned, we will continue to invest heavily, while maintaining strong profitability, during 2023…my confidence level on delivering high returns to all stakeholders has never been higher.”
Mobileye stock is up 4.2% in premarket trading.
S&P 500
and
Nasdaq Composite
futures are up 0.5% and 1%, respectively.
Baird analyst Luke Junk wrote in a research report that he “remains focused on the significant upside potential of [the company’s] premium ADAS offerings.” He rates Mobileye stock at Buy with a $39 price target. Overall, 78% of analysts covering Mobileye rate shares at Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 58%, and the average price target is $43.
ADAS is short for advanced driver assistance systems. ADAS includes features such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, and automatic emergency braking. All together, ADAS features allow cars to do more but not all of the driving.
Cars can’t actually drive themselves without drivers paying attention 100% of the time. But auto makers are still adding more features to attract buyers, and improve safety.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
Credit: marketwatch.com