How Middleby Stock Gained 18% in August
Shares of Middleby (NASDAQ: MIDD) rose 17.9% in August, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The maker of cooking, cleaning, and food storage equipment for professional kitchens and home cooks alike posted strong second-quarter results, but the earnings-based gains were diminished by a deep dip into new debt papers.
The company behind well-known brands such as Viking ranges, Toastmaster toasters, and quick-cooking Turbochef ovens saw second-quarter sales fall 38% year over year, but your average analyst had expected a deeper revenue drop of roughly 41%. The bottom-line story was similar, as Middleby's earnings fell 68% to $0.55 per share but analysts would have settled for $0.41 per share.
CEO Tim FitzGerald said the COVID-19 pandemic weighed heavily on these results but that Middleby is adapting to the slow sales by cutting costs. Demand for new equipment started to build in July for some types of machinery, like pizza ovens and quick-serve fryers.
Source Fool.com
