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Investing.com -- Shares of Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:SYM) tumbled 15% after the company’s first-quarter earnings per share (EPS) and second-quarter revenue guidance fell short of analyst expectations, leading to a downgrade by Raymond (NSE:RYMD) James. The robotics technology firm reported a Q1 EPS of ($0.03), which was not in line with the anticipated $0.02. Moreover, the revenue for the quarter was $486.7 million, missing the consensus estimate of $494.03 million.
Despite a year-over-year (YoY) revenue increase of over 35% from $360 million in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year, the company’s guidance for the second quarter of 2025 projects revenues between $510-530 million, below the consensus of $533.3 million. This forecast suggests a slowdown in growth, which has concerned investors and analysts alike.
Raymond James analyst Brian Gesuale downgraded Symbotic’s stock from Outperform to Market Perform, citing a series of concerns including the company’s pace of system deployments and the ability to execute against its backlog. "We are downgrading shares of SYM from Outperform to Market Perform following 1Q results and a 2Q guide that missed the mark, along with flat backlog ($22.4B) and slowing pace of system deployments," Gesuale stated.
In contrast, Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch maintained an Outperform rating and a $35.00 price target on the company, highlighting the positive aspects such as gross margin improvement and the potential for software revenue growth.
Symbotic’s financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2025, which ended December 28, 2024, reflected a net loss of $19 million, consistent with the same quarter the previous year. However, the company did see an increase in cash and cash equivalents and anticipates at least a 30% YoY revenue growth for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, with expanding margins.
The contrasting views from analysts underscore the challenges and potential that Symbotic faces. While the company has made strides in revenue growth and technology enhancement, as stated by CEO Rick Cohen, it is clear that the market is closely watching its execution and financial performance in the coming quarters.
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