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Dec 31, 2020

Eaton Q4 2020 Earnings Report

Eaton's Q4 2020 performance was stronger than expected, with adjusted EPS of $1.28 and sales of $4.7 billion.

Key Takeaways

Eaton Corporation reported a stronger than expected fourth quarter with organic sales down 5 percent and adjusted earnings per share of $1.28. The company generated strong cash flow, with operating cash flow totaling $943 million and free cash flow totaling $845 million.

Earnings per share were $1.18 for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Adjusted earnings per share were $1.28 for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Sales in the fourth quarter of 2020 were $4.7 billion.

Full year free cash flow totaled $2.6 billion, at the top of guidance range.

Total Revenue
$4.69B
Previous year: $5.24B
-10.5%
EPS
$1.28
Previous year: $1.37
-6.6%
Segment margins
17.4%
Previous year: 16.4%
+6.1%
Gross Profit
$1.51B
Previous year: $1.68B
-10.3%
Cash and Equivalents
$438M
Previous year: $370M
+18.4%
Free Cash Flow
$845M
Previous year: $791M
+6.8%
Total Assets
$31.8B
Previous year: $32.8B
-3.0%

Eaton

Eaton

Eaton Revenue by Segment

Forward Guidance

Eaton expects organic revenues to grow between 4 percent and 6 percent versus 2020, with growth in all segments. For full year 2021, we expect adjusted earnings per share to be between $5.40 and $5.80.

Positive Outlook

  • Expect organic revenues to grow between 4% and 6% versus 2020
  • Anticipate segment margins between 17.6% and 18.0%
  • Adjusted earnings per share to be between $5.40 and $5.80 for full year 2021
  • Expect growth in all segments
  • Expect sequential growth trend to continue well into 2021 in vehicle markets

Challenges Ahead

  • The divestitures of Hydraulics and Lighting businesses are expected to reduce sales by 8%
  • Downturn in commercial aviation impacted aerospace segment sales
  • Organic sales were down 5 percent
  • The twelve-month rolling average of orders in the fourth quarter was down 6 percent, driven by declines in oil and gas and industrial markets in Electrical Global segment
  • Backlog at the end of December was down 14 percent compared to December 2019 in Aerospace segment

Revenue & Expenses

Visualization of income flow from segment revenue to net income