Avery Dennison (AVY) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Rise Y/Y

Core Insights - Avery Dennison Corporation (AVY) reported adjusted earnings of $2.16 per share for Q4 2023, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.15, with a year-over-year increase of 31% [1] - Total revenues for the quarter rose 4.2% year-over-year to $2.11 billion, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.09 billion [1] - The company expects adjusted EPS for 2024 to be between $9.00 and $9.50 [5] Financial Performance - The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.77 including one-time items, compared to $1.51 in the same quarter last year [1] - Gross profit increased by 19.2% year-over-year to $596 million, while the cost of sales decreased by 0.7% to $1.51 billion [1] - Adjusted operating profit was approximately $261 million, up from $188 million in the prior-year quarter, with an adjusted operating margin of 12.4% compared to 9.3% [1] Segment Performance - Revenues in the Materials Group segment declined 1.6% year-over-year to $1.42 billion, missing estimates, while adjusted operating profit increased 31.9% to $198 million [2] - The Solutions Group saw revenues rise 18.3% year-over-year to $692 million, significantly exceeding estimates, with adjusted operating income up 51.6% to $80.5 million [2] Shareholder Returns and Debt - The company returned $394 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends in 2023, repurchasing 0.8 million shares [3] - Cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2023 were $215 million, up from $167 million at the end of 2022, while long-term debt increased to $2.62 billion [3] Annual Performance - Adjusted EPS for 2023 decreased 14% year-over-year to $7.90 but exceeded estimates, while total revenues fell 7.5% to $8.36 billion, also surpassing expectations [4] Stock Performance - Shares of AVY have increased by 6.8% over the past year, compared to the industry's growth of 15% [6]