A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions (NASDAQ:AZ) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions (NASDAQ:AZ) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.02, Zacks reports. A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions had a negative return on equity of 48.31% and a negative net margin of 241.67%.The firm had revenue of $5.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 million.

Here are the key takeaways from A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions’ conference call:

• Second-quarter revenue rose 78% sequentially to $5.9 million, while Smart Cart deliveries nearly doubled to 950 units; gross margin also improved sharply to 42.6% from 4.2% in the prior quarter.
• Management reiterated its target of delivering 10,000 Smart Carts by year-end 2026 and at least 19,000 by the end of 2027, with deliveries expected to increase sequentially in the second half despite seasonal softness in September.
• Super Sapir expanded its commitment by 4,000 carts to 7,000 total, while A2Z expects deliveries to Toys R Us, Red Pirate, and at least two retailers outside Israel within the next six months.
• The new China manufacturing facility is increasing capacity, shortening lead times, and reducing production costs; A2Z also secured a $30 million Bank Leumi credit line and expects an organizational realignment to generate approximately $7 million in annual savings.
• Despite operational improvements, A2Z reported a $7.6 million operating loss and a $7.3 million net loss for the quarter, while management expects retail media revenue to ramp gradually and remain smaller than Smart Cart revenue in the near term.

A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions Price Performance

AZ stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $7.88. 155,172 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,138. A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions has a 12-month low of $4.97 and a 12-month high of $9.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $5.88 and its 200 day moving average is $6.35. The company has a market cap of $350.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.43 and a beta of 1.16.

A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, July 6th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZ. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions by 113.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 11,342 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions during the second quarter worth $412,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions during the second quarter worth $148,000. Honeycomb Asset Management LP purchased a new position in A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions during the second quarter valued at $1,773,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $146,000. 12.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZ. Zacks Research upgraded A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions Company Profile

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp., a technology company, focuses on the development and commercialization of retail smart cart solutions for grocery stores and supermarkets in Israel and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Precision Metal Parts, Advanced Engineering, and Smart Carts. It offers Cust2Mate system, which incorporates a smart cart that automatically calculates the value of the customers purchases in their smart cart without having to unload and reload their purchases at a customer checkout point.