What Happened?

Shares of crane and lifting equipment company Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW) jumped 21.9% in the morning session after the company reported strong fourth-quarter results that significantly exceeded analysts' EPS expectations, with EBITDA also outperforming Wall Street estimates by a wide margin. However, backlog declined notably, and revenue remained flat compared to the prior year, inline with expectations. Looking ahead, the company remains focused on growing its non-new machine sales and expanding its aftermarket business, as highlighted by its recent distribution rights acquisition in the southeastern U.S. However, the backlog weakness raises concerns about future growth momentum. Zooming out, we think this was a decent quarter featuring some areas of strength but also some blemishes.

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What The Market Is Telling Us

Manitowoc’s shares are very volatile and have had 25 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Manitowoc and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

Manitowoc is up 23.8% since the beginning of the year, but at $11.02 per share, it is still trading 33% below its 52-week high of $16.44 from February 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Manitowoc’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $850.76.

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