Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.04), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $720.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $715.03 million. Symbotic had a negative net margin of 0.20% and a negative return on equity of 0.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.05) earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Symbotic’s conference call:

• Strong third-quarter performance: Revenue rose 22% year over year to $721 million, GAAP net income reached $55 million, and adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $95 million. Fourth-quarter guidance calls for revenue of $760 million–$780 million and adjusted EBITDA of $100 million–$105 million.
• Symbotic started 11 new deployments during the quarter, bringing total deployments to 77 and operational systems to 56. The company’s backlog remained substantial at $22.5 billion, while software and operations-services revenue grew 57% and 49%, respectively.
• Product expansion is broadening the opportunity set, with BreakPack deployed at half of Walmart’s regional distribution centers, the first next-generation SymMicro system being installed at a Walmart store, and growing interest in perishables, dock automation, and warehouse-optimization software.
• The Walmart SymMicro opportunity appears farther out than some investors may have expected: management said the first new-version prototype will take roughly six months, with the 400-store order likely not occurring until early 2028. The next-generation storage structure’s major revenue and margin impact is expected mainly in the second half of fiscal 2027.
• Management expects fourth-quarter EBITDA margins to be broadly stable as gross margins normalize from the unusually strong third quarter and operating expenses rise modestly. Third-quarter cash declined to $1.7 billion due to project-related timing, although management expects positive fourth-quarter free cash flow.

Symbotic Stock Performance

Shares of SYM traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.52. 2,007,595 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,449,456. The firm has a market cap of $28.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -930.21, a P/E/G ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.90. Symbotic has a 52-week low of $38.19 and a 52-week high of $87.88.

Key Stories Impacting Symbotic

Here are the key news stories impacting Symbotic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Symbotic reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of approximately $721 million, up 22% year over year and ahead of the $715 million analyst consensus. Net income was $55 million, compared with a $21 million loss in the year-ago quarter. Symbotic Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $760 million to $780 million, a range that brackets the $770.7 million consensus estimate and signals continued demand for the company’s warehouse-automation systems.
• Positive Sentiment: Former Bain Capital co-chair Steve Pagliuca was elected to Symbotic’s board, potentially adding financial and strategic expertise as the company expands its artificial-intelligence-enabled robotics business. Symbotic Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of Symbotic’s use of AI coding agents highlights the company’s efforts to manage software-development costs as AI usage increases, but provides limited new information about near-term financial results. AI coding agents are blowing through budgets
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS was $0.09, below the $0.13 consensus estimate. Although revenue exceeded expectations, the earnings shortfall likely drove the negative market reaction and renewed concerns about profitability. Symbotic earnings release
• Negative Sentiment: Directors Todd Krasnow and Charles Kane each sold 2,000 shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The sales were relatively small and scheduled in advance, limiting their signaling value, but they may still weigh modestly on sentiment.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYM shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Symbotic from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Symbotic from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Symbotic in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Symbotic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Symbotic

In related news, Director Charles Kane sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.21, for a total value of $86,420.00. Following the sale, the director owned 89,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,882,504.92. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider William M. Boyd III sold 9,194 shares of Symbotic stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.04, for a total value of $377,321.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 57,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,876.48. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,433 shares of company stock valued at $6,627,326. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Symbotic

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Symbotic by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,530,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,587,000 after buying an additional 1,165,513 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Symbotic by 51,346.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,174,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,375,000 after buying an additional 2,178,615 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Symbotic by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,105,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,601,000 after purchasing an additional 201,547 shares during the period. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Symbotic in the 4th quarter worth about $63,034,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Symbotic by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 905,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,889,000 after acquiring an additional 177,800 shares during the last quarter.

About Symbotic

Symbotic Inc (NASDAQ: SYM) is a provider of advanced warehouse automation and robotics systems designed to improve throughput, space utilization and labor productivity in distribution centers and fulfillment operations. The company develops integrated hardware and software solutions that automate the storage, retrieval, sorting and palletizing of goods, positioning itself as a systems integrator for material handling challenges faced by large-scale retailers, wholesalers and third-party logistics providers.

Products and services typically include autonomous robotic vehicles and shuttle systems, automated storage-and-retrieval equipment, robotic picking and palletizing cells, conveyors and sortation, together with control and management software that coordinates fleet operations and inventory flow.