A.O. Smith (NYSE: AOS) reported Q4 EPS of $0.56, $0.03 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.59. Revenue for the quarter came in at $750.9 million versus the consensus estimate of $776.27 million.

GUIDANCE:

A.O. Smith sees FY2020 EPS of $2.40-$2.50, versus the consensus of $2.48.

"In 2019, we laid the groundwork for future success with several activities: an acquisition was added to our North America water treatment portfolio, China channel inventory levels declined to be within the normal range of two to three months, we substantially completed our re-entry into the high-end of mid-price range products in China with new products specifically designed to target this demographic and full implementation of our enterprise resource planning environment in North America is nearly complete. In 2020, we look forward to building from these actions."

"To that end, we expect total company full year sales in 2020 will grow between 4.5 and 5.5 percent. We forecast 2020 earnings will be between $2.40 and $2.50 per share. The midpoint of our 2020 earnings guidance represents a ten percent increase over 2019 earnings per share," Wheeler concluded. The company's 2020 earnings per share guidance excludes the potential impact to its businesses from the developing coronavirus originating in China.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on A.O. Smith (AOS) click here.