Blowout Quarter for ITW

1. On 4/20, ITW reported 1st qtr eps of .58 versus a $.21 in 2009 (from continuing operations). Consensus was looking for $.57.
2. Most importantly, revenues were up 14.6% from last year’s quarter. I was impressed to see that North America’s base revenues were up 7.1%, lending credibility to the fact that we are in a recovery phase in the U.S.
3. Operating margins increased 1050 basis points to 13.4%.
Two industries we have been talking about in our blog, autos and PCs, were strong drivers for the quarters eps. Transportation +35.6%, PC board fabrication business +89.4%!
Now, for the words we all want to hear, management is raising guidance for 2nd qtr to a range of $.74 to $.86. Full year is being guided upwards to $2.72 to $3.08.
We continue to like this stock.