NEENAH, WI, April 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ: PLXS) today announced financial results for our fiscal second quarter ended March 29, 2025, and guidance for our fiscal third quarter ending June 28, 2025.
- Reports fiscal second quarter 2025 revenue of $980 million, GAAP operating margin of 5.0% and GAAP diluted EPS of $1.41.
- Reports fiscal second quarter 2025 non-GAAP operating margin of 5.7% and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.66, excluding $0.25 of stock-based compensation expense.
- Initiates fiscal third quarter 2025 revenue guidance of $1.00 billion to $1.04 billion with GAAP diluted EPS of $1.40 to $1.55, including $0.25 of stock-based compensation expense. Fiscal third quarter non-GAAP EPS guidance of $1.65 to $1.80 excludes stock-based compensation expense.
| Three Months Ended | |||||||||||||
| Mar 29, 2025 | Mar 29, 2025 | Jun 28, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Q2F25 Results | Q2F25 Guidance | Q3F25 Guidance | |||||||||||
| Summary GAAP Items | |||||||||||||
| Revenue (in millions) | $ | 980 | $960 to $1,000 | $1,000 to $1,040 | |||||||||
| Operating margin | 5.0 | % | 4.6% to 5.0% | 5.0% to 5.4% | |||||||||
| Diluted EPS | $ | 1.41 | $1.22 to $1.37 | $1.40 to $1.55 | |||||||||
| Summary Non-GAAP Items (1) | |||||||||||||
| Adjusted operating margin (2) | 5.7 | % | 5.3% to 5.7% | 5.7% to 6.1% | |||||||||
| Adjusted EPS (3) | $ | 1.66 | $1.46 to $1.61 | $1.65 to $1.80 | |||||||||
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 13.7 | % | |||||||||||
| Economic return | 4.8 | % | |||||||||||
| (1 | ) | Refer to Non-GAAP Supplemental Information tables for additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures. |
| (2 | ) | Excludes stock-based compensation expense of approximately 70 bps for Q2F25 results,Q2F25 guidance and Q3F25 guidance. |
| (3 | ) | Excludes stock-based compensation expense, net of tax, of $0.25 for Q2F25 results,$0.24 for Q2F25 guidance and $0.25 for Q3F25 guidance. |
- Won 42 manufacturing programs during the quarter representing $205 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production.
- Generated fiscal second quarter free cash flow of $16.5 million, contributing to fiscal year-to-date free cash flow of $43.6 million.
- Purchased $12.2 million of our shares at an average price of $141.18 per share under our 2025 Share Repurchase Program, leaving $25.0 million available under our existing $50.0 million authorization.
Patrick Jermain, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "Fiscal second quarter cash cycle of 68 days was favorable to expectations and consistent with the fiscal first quarter. We continue to drive reductions in our gross inventory balance, with this quarter representing the fifth consecutive quarter of improvement. Our favorable cash cycle performance benefited our fiscal second quarter return on invested capital of 13.7%, which exceeded our weighted average cost of capital by 480 basis points. Finally, we delivered better than expected free cash flow of $16.5 million, which we utilized to repurchase $12.2 million of our shares during the fiscal second quarter in support of our commitment to return cash to shareholders."
Mr. Kelsey added, "We delivered 42 fiscal second quarter manufacturing wins, representing $205 million in annualized revenue. Notably, this result included our largest ever sustaining services win in support of creating success for an industry-leading healthcare customer. Additionally, our engineering solutions team delivered its best quarterly wins performance in more than 5 years, highlighting the breadth of our global capabilities and the effectiveness of our diversification efforts.”
Mr. Kelsey continued, "We are guiding fiscal third quarter revenue of $1.00 to $1.04 billion, non-GAAP operating margin of 5.7% to 6.1% and non-GAAP EPS of $1.65 to $1.80. Furthermore, while conservatively assessing the remainder of the fiscal year and acknowledging the uncertainty associated with tariffs, we continue to anticipate achieving meaningful EPS growth in fiscal 2025, capitalizing upon revenue growth in each of our market sectors, robust operating margin performance and ongoing free cash flow deployment.”
Mr. Kelsey concluded, "Plexus uniquely supports customer success, leveraging our comprehensive product lifecycle solutions and passion for operational excellence delivered through our globally united team. Our ongoing strategic investments in talent, technology, facilities and advanced capabilities position Plexus to proactively navigate evolving landscapes and dynamic environments to enable our customers' success.”
| Quarterly Comparison | Three Months Ended | ||||||||||
| (in thousands, except EPS) | Mar 29, 2025 | Dec 28, 2024 | Mar 30, 2024 | ||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 980,170 | $ | 976,122 | $ | 966,900 | |||||
| Gross profit | 97,751 | 100,692 | 88,063 | ||||||||
| Operating income | 48,791 | 46,860 | 29,470 | ||||||||
| Net income | 39,073 | 37,267 | 16,239 | ||||||||
| Diluted EPS | $ | 1.41 | $ | 1.34 | $ | 0.58 | |||||
| Gross margin | 10.0 | % | 10.3 | % | 9.1 | % | |||||
| Operating margin | 5.0 | % | 4.8 | % | 3.0 | % | |||||
| ROIC (1) | 13.7 | % | 13.8 | % | 9.9 | % | |||||
| Economic return (1) | 4.8 | % | 4.9 | % | 1.7 | % | |||||
| (1 | ) | Refer to Non-GAAP Supplemental Information tables for non-GAAP financial measures discussed and/or disclosed in this release, such as adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, ROIC and economic return. |
Business Segment and Market Sector Revenue
Plexus measures operational performance and allocates resources on a geographic segment basis. Plexus also reports revenue based on the market sector breakout set forth in the table below, which reflects Plexus' market sector focused strategy. Top 10 customers comprised 51% of revenue during both the first and second quarter of fiscal 2025. This is up 3 percentage points from the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
| Business Segments ($ in millions) | Three Months Ended | |||||||||||
| Mar 29, 2025 | Dec 28, 2024 | Mar 30, 2024 | ||||||||||
| Americas | $ | 295 | $ | 274 | $ | 296 | ||||||
| Asia-Pacific | 587 | 607 | 522 | |||||||||
| Europe, Middle East and Africa | 103 | 101 | 152 | |||||||||
| Elimination of inter-segment sales | (5 | ) | (6 | ) | (3 | ) | ||||||
| Total Revenue | $ | 980 | $ | 976 | $ | 967 | ||||||
| Market Sectors ($ in millions) | Three Months Ended | |||||||||||||
| Mar 29, 2025 | Dec 28, 2024 | Mar 30, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Aerospace/Defense | $ | 172 | 18 | % | $ | 160 | 16 | % | $ | 170 | 18 | % | ||
| Healthcare/Life Sciences | 411 | 42 | % | 374 | 38 | % | 379 | 39 | % | |||||
| Industrial | 397 | 40 | % | 442 | 46 | % | 418 | 43 | % | |||||
| Total Revenue | $ | 980 | $ | 976 | $ | 967 | ||||||||
Plexus provides non-GAAP supplemental information, such as ROIC, economic return and free cash flow, because such measures are used for internal management goals and decision-making, and because they provide management and investors with additional insight into financial performance. In addition, management uses these and other non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS, to provide a better understanding of core performance for purposes of period-to-period comparisons. Plexus believes that these measures are also useful to investors because they provide further insight by eliminating the effect of non-recurring items that are not reflective of continuing operations. For additional information on non-GAAP measures, please refer to the attached Non-GAAP Supplemental Information tables.
ROIC and Economic Return
ROIC for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 was 13.7%. Plexus defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized adjusted operating income divided by average invested capital over a three-quarter period for the second fiscal quarter. Invested capital is defined as equity plus debt and operating lease obligations, less cash and cash equivalents. Plexus' weighted average cost of capital for fiscal 2025 is 8.9%. ROIC for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 less Plexus' weighted average cost of capital resulted in an economic return of 4.8%.
Free Cash Flow
Plexus defines free cash flow as cash flows provided by operations less capital expenditures. For the three months ended March 29, 2025, cash flows provided by operations was $36.7 million, less capital expenditures of $20.2 million, resulting in free cash flow of $16.5 million.
| Cash Cycle Days | Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||
| Mar 29, 2025 | Dec 28, 2024 | Mar 30, 2024 | |||||||||||
| Days in Accounts Receivable | 57 | 56 | 61 | ||||||||||
| Days in Contract Assets | 12 | 12 | 12 | ||||||||||
| Days in Inventory | 132 | 134 | 158 | ||||||||||
| Days in Accounts Payable | (70) | (69) | (65) | ||||||||||
| Days in Advanced Payments | (63) | (65) | (75) | ||||||||||
| Annualized Cash Cycle (1) | 68 | 68 | 91 | ||||||||||
| (1 | ) | Plexus calculates cash cycle as the sum of days in accounts receivable, days in contract assets and days in inventory, less days in accounts payable and days in advanced payments. |
| What: | Plexus Fiscal 2025 Q2 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast |
| When: | Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time |
| Where: | Participants are encouraged to join the live webcast at the investor relations section of the Plexus website, plexus.com. Participants can also join utilizing the links below: Webcast link: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/242810884 |
| Replay: | The webcast will be archived on the Plexus website and will be available as on-demand for 12 months |
Shawn Harrison
+1.920.969.6325
shawn.harrison@plexus.com
About Plexus
Since 1979, Plexus has helped create the products that build a better world. Driven by a passion for excellence, we partner with our customers to design, manufacture and service highly complex products in demanding regulatory environments. From life-saving medical devices and mission-critical aerospace and defense products to industrial automation systems and semiconductor capital equipment, our innovative solutions across the lifecycle of a product converge where advanced technology and human impact intersect. We provide these solutions to market-leading as well as disruptive global companies in the Aerospace/Defense, Healthcare/Life Sciences, and Industrial sectors, supported by a global team of over 20,000 members across our 26 facilities in the Americas ("AMER"), Asia-Pacific ("APAC") and Europe, Middle East and Africa ("EMEA") regions. For more information about Plexus, visit our website at www.plexus.com.
Safe Harbor and Fair Disclosure Statement
The statements contained in this press release that are guidance or which are not historical facts (such as statements in the future tense and statements including believe, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, goal, target and similar terms and concepts), including all discussions of periods which are not yet completed, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the effects of tariffs, trade disputes, trade agreements and other trade protection measures; the effect of inflationary pressures on our costs of production, profitability, and on the economic outlook of our markets; the effects of shortages and delays in obtaining components as a result of economic cycles, natural disasters or otherwise; the risk of customer delays, changes, cancellations or forecast inaccuracies in both ongoing and new programs; the ability to realize anticipated savings from restructuring or similar actions, as well as the adequacy of r