Core Viewpoint - Illinois Tool Works (ITW) reported quarterly earnings of $2.81 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.69 per share, and showing an increase from $2.65 per share a year ago [1][2] Financial Performance - The earnings surprise for the quarter was +4.46%, with the company having surpassed consensus EPS estimates in all four of the last quarters [2] - Revenues for the quarter were $4.06 billion, slightly missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.55%, and up from $3.97 billion year-over-year [3] - The company has only topped consensus revenue estimates once in the last four quarters [3] Stock Performance and Outlook - ITW shares have increased approximately 1.5% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 14.6% [4] - The future performance of the stock will largely depend on management's commentary during the earnings call and the earnings outlook [4][5] Earnings Estimates - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $2.73 on revenues of $4.06 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $10.38 on revenues of $16.03 billion [8] Industry Context - The Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, to which ITW belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 41% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating potential challenges ahead [9]