Oshkosh Corp. (OSK) Shares Surge a Day After Announcing Q3 Results

Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE:OSK) is one of the very few truck manufacturers that have their very first vehicle in running condition still today. The company, officially founded in 1917, started manufacturing mobile vehicles back in the days when most roads were not paved. In the 1920s, it rolled out the Model H snow removal truck to deal with the harsh Midwestern winter season. In the 1940s, it manufactured 988 W-Series trucks for the U.S. military. Over the years, it expanded and grown to a multibillion-dollar company with the help of several acquisitions and securing deals with several key customers including the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Oshkosh, Wisconsin-based specialty truck manufacturer on Wednesday announced its financial results for the first quarter. It reported earnings of $69.5 million, or $1.01 per share, as compared to $75.7 million, or $1.10 per share in the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.13 per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of $0.92 per share.

Revenue for the quarter declined 7 percent on a year-over-year basis to $1.58 billion, missing the consensus forecast of $1.95 billion. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, payable to shareholders on February 26.

Speaking on the results, CEO Wilson Jones said in a statement, “several of our key manufacturing sites are located in areas of the United States that suffered from very high rates of COVID-19 spread in the Fall of 2020. This caused high levels of absenteeism and brought challenges for many of our supply chain partners.”

Oshkosh shares are up nearly 7 percent in the mid-day trading Thursday following better-than-expected earnings. Overall, OSK share price has increased about 12 percent so far in 2021, including today’s gain.