Shares of Astec Industries Inc. (ASTE) plunged 5.64% in Wednesday's trading session, despite the company reporting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. The sharp decline comes as investors grappled with mixed results and concerns over revenue performance.

For the quarter ended June 30, Astec reported adjusted earnings of $0.88 per share, significantly surpassing the analyst consensus of $0.56. This represents a substantial improvement from the $0.61 per share reported in the same quarter last year. However, the company's revenue fell short of expectations, coming in at $330.3 million, down 4.4% year-over-year and below the anticipated $354.2 million.

The revenue miss appears to be the primary driver behind the stock's decline, overshadowing the impressive earnings beat. Astec's Infrastructure Solutions segment, which includes road building equipment and asphalt plants, saw a 7.6% decrease in net sales, primarily due to challenging conditions in the mobile paving and forestry equipment markets. While the Materials Solutions segment showed a slight 1.3% increase in sales, it wasn't enough to offset the overall revenue decline.

Despite the revenue shortfall, Astec's management highlighted improved operational efficiencies, with adjusted EBITDA increasing to $33.7 million from $27.6 million in the prior year. The company also updated its full-year guidance, now expecting adjusted EBITDA in the range of $123 million to $142 million, which includes the anticipated contribution from its recently completed TerraSource acquisition.

The market's negative reaction suggests that investors are more concerned about the top-line performance and potential headwinds in Astec's key markets, rather than the bottom-line improvement. As the company continues to navigate challenges in its infrastructure solutions segment and integrates its new acquisition, investors will likely keep a close eye on Astec's ability to drive revenue growth in the coming quarters.