What Happened?
Shares of power generation products company Generac (NYSE: GNRC) jumped 2.8% in the afternoon session after the stock appeared to rebound from a sharp decline in the previous session that was caused by disappointing third-quarter results and a reduced forecast.
The company's performance fell short of Wall Street's expectations, with both revenue and profit missing estimates. Management pointed to an unusually low number of power outages, which led to weaker demand for its home standby and portable generators. Following the report, one media personality noted the stock “got slammed” because the company's core business relies on natural disasters, of which there had been a lull. Despite the weak quarter for its main business, the company noted that growth in its commercial and industrial products was set to speed up due to a surge in demand from data centers.
The shares closed the day at $168.04, up 1.4% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy Generac? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Generac’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 13 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock gained 14.7% on the news that the company reported second-quarter results that surpassed analyst expectations and raised its full-year profit margin guidance. The company posted revenue of $1.06 billion, a 6% increase from the prior year, driven by growth in both its residential and commercial & industrial segments. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.65 per share, handily beating analyst consensus. A key factor in the strong performance was an improved gross profit margin, which expanded to 39.3% from 37.6% a year ago. Management attributed this to favorable pricing and lower input costs. Following the strong quarter, Generac raised the low end of its full-year adjusted EBITDA margin forecast to a range of 18.0% to 19.0%, signaling confidence to investors. Adding to the positive sentiment, Guggenheim had also upgraded the stock to a "buy" rating just a day prior to the earnings release.
Generac is up 7% since the beginning of the year, but at $168.02 per share, it is still trading 17.2% below its 52-week high of $202.85 from August 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Generac’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $790.42.
Do you want to know what moves the business you care about? Add them to your StockStory watchlist and every time a stock significantly moves, we provide you with a timely explanation straight to your inbox. It’s free for active Edge members and will only take you a second.
