Emerson Reports First Quarter 2025 Results; Updates 2025 Outlook

Core Insights - Emerson reported strong first-quarter results for fiscal 2025, with net sales of $4.175 billion, a 1% increase from the previous year, and a significant rise in pretax earnings to$ 775 million, up 1440 basis points in margin to 18.6% [1][12][25] - The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.5275 per share, payable on March 10, 2025 [1] - Emerson's management reiterated guidance for underlying sales growth of 1%-2% for Q2 and 3%-5% for the second half of fiscal 2025, driven by resilient demand in process and hybrid markets [2][4] Financial Performance - Net sales for Q1 2025 were$ 4.175 billion, compared to $4.117 billion in Q1 2024, reflecting a 1% increase [1][12] - Underlying sales growth was reported at 2% for Q1 2025 [1] - Adjusted earnings per share increased by 13% to$ 1.38, while GAAP earnings per share surged by 252% to $1.02 [1][25] - Operating cash flow rose by 75% to$ 777 million, and free cash flow increased by 89% to $694 million [1][25] Segment Performance - The Intelligent Devices segment reported sales of$ 2.843 billion, a 1% increase, while the AspenTech segment saw an 18% increase in sales to $303 million [1][16] - The Final Control segment achieved a 4% sales growth, while Discrete Automation experienced a decline of 5% [16][31] - Adjusted segment EBITA for Q1 2025 was$ 1.169 billion, with a margin of 28.0%, up from 24.6% in the previous year [1][25] 2025 Outlook - Emerson plans to return approximately $3.2 billion to shareholders through$ 2.0 billion in share repurchases and $1.2 billion in dividends [3] - The company expects net sales growth for Q2 2025 to be between (0.5%) and 0.5%, with underlying sales growth projected at 1%-2% [4][31] - The guidance does not account for the impact of recent portfolio transactions related to AspenTech and Safety & Productivity [3][6]