Kadant (KAI) reported $258.03 million in revenue for the quarter ended December 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 8.1%. EPS of $2.25 for the same period compares to $2.41 a year ago.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of -0.01% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $258.06 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $2.08, the EPS surprise was +8.17%.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Kadant performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Revenues- Material Handling Systems: $61.92 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $63.87 million.
• Revenues- Industrial Processing: $101.43 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $101.25 million.
• Revenues- Flow Control: $94.68 million versus $94.64 million estimated by two analysts on average.

View all Key Company Metrics for Kadant here>>>

Shares of Kadant have returned +2.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +4.3% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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