Paccar Jumps During Earnings Call After Comments On Europe, Peers Follow

Shares of truck maker PACCAR (PCAR) and peers in the space came off their intra-day lows during PACCAR’s fourth quarter earnings conference call.

MISSED Q4 EXPECTATIONS. After reporting Q4 financial results, shares of PACCAR opened down over 2.5% from Monday’s close at $65.92 and traded as low as $64.96 intra-day. The truck maker reported earnings of 82c for EPS on revenue of $3.77B, both lower than analyst expectations of 86c for EPS on revenue of $3.87B. The company’s Q4 results reflect lower truck deliveries in North America. Class 8 truck industry retail sales in the U.S. and Canada were 216,000 units in 2016, compared to 278,000 vehicles sold in 2015.

CONFERENCE CALL CATALYST: The companies shares started rallying when PACCAR executives began speaking about the European truck cycle. Company executives pointed out that 2016 was a “great year for the company especially for DAF, its European brand. Executives added that DAF may be able to improve its share by a full percentage point “in the market.” With German transport activity at record highs PACCAR said it sees nothing “near-term” to suggest that the truck cycle in Europe has run its course. Company executives noted that they “are being a bit conservative” on how they are viewing the market next year. The company added that it is looking forward to expanding its financing capabilities in Europe which have already increased its market share in financing especially for DAF trucks. The company guided to gross margins of 13.5%-14.5% for 2017, with pricing leverage as a tail wind and competition as a possible headwind.

PRICE ACTION: Shares of PACCAR rallied almost 4% during the conference call to a high of $68.64 but are now trading at $66.79 per share in afternoon trading.

OTHER TRUCK PEERS RALLY: Peers of PACCAR, truck maker Navistar (NAV) and engine maker Cummins (CMI) also rallied off their lows during the conference call and are off their opening lows in afternoon trading.