Why This Robotics Stock Has Soared 40% After Earnings

Symbotic, a major Walmart partner, announced a big new customer. (Courtesy Walmart)

Key Points

• Symbotic reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of 3 cents per share on revenue of $618 million, exceeding analyst estimates.
• The company announced Medline as a new customer, marking its entry into the healthcare sector and diversifying its customer base.
• Symbotic’s stock rose 40% to $77.80, driven by strong earnings, margin expansion, and the new customer announcement.

Want to send your stock skyrocketing? Try beating revenue estimates, expanding margins, and announcing a big new customer.

That is exactly what Symbotic , the warehouse robotics company, did with its fiscal fourth-quarter results.

The company posted a loss of 3 cents a share on revenue of $618 million, while the consensus calls among analysts tracked by FactSet were for a 4-cent loss and $604 million in revenue. Adjusted gross margins expanded to 22.1% from 21.5% the prior quarter and 17.9% last year.

The company also forecast revenue of $610 million to $630 million for the first quarter of 2026, a more upbeat call than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $611.5 million heading into the result.

Symbotic stock was up 39% to $75.88 in late morning trading Tuesday. That left it on pace for its largest single-day jump since July 31, 2023, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Much of the gain came because the company said the medical-supply distributor Medline is a new customer, its first in the healthcare sector. Many analysts saw that as a significant development.

“Announcing Medline as a customer opens a new end-market and validates SYM’s ability to support lofty growth expectations,” wrote Oppenheimer & Co analysts in a research note Tuesday. Continuing investments in both design and downstream software will increase customer interest and retention, they said.

Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating for Symbotic shares and a target of $83 for the price.

A concentrated customer base has been a concern for Symbotic. UBS downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral in September due in part to its reliance on Walmart and sluggish growth in its backlog of orders.

If the Medline win helped assuage the former concern, a step-up in the share of its order backlog it can convert into revenue could help ease the latter. Symbotic expects to deliver about 12% of its $22.5 billion backlog in the next 12 months, up one percentage point from last quarter.

“Following several recent negative revisions and some spotty execution, it is becoming clear that revenue growth expectations are improving, with a more notable step-up of backlog conversion beginning in the [second half of the year],” wrote Greg Palm of Craig-Hallum.

The firm boosted its estimates for 2026 revenue and earnings accordingly. It raised its rating on the stock to Buy from Hold, increasing its target for the price to $70 from $51.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com