Why Gentex Got Crushed

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of automotive and aircraft component maker Gentex (NAS: GNTX) got crushed today by as much as 32% after the company reported earnings.

So what: Revenue increased 15% to $280.3 million in the second quarter, resulting in net income of $40.8 million, or $0.28 per share. Those figures slimly missed Street expectations of $283 million in revenue and a $0.29 per share profit. Perhaps more troubling was the drop in gross margins.

Now what: Gross margins shrank to 33.1%, down sequentially from 35.2%. The company attributed this decrease to price reductions and changes in the product mix, which was only partially offset by the company's own cost reductions. CEO Fred Bauer conceded, "While we are pleased with the growth in net sales in the second quarter, we recognize that we have work to do to improve the gross profit margin." Guidance for the third quarter expects sales to be between flat to up 5% year over year.

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The article Why Gentex Got Crushed originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu holds no position in any company mentioned. Click here to see his holdings and a short bio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gentex. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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