What Happened?
Shares of agricultural and farm machinery company Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) fell 8.2% in the afternoon session after it reported third-quarter financial results where profits missed Wall Street's expectations, overshadowing a slight beat on revenue.
The company's revenue for the quarter came in at $153.6 million, beating the analyst consensus of $151.1 million. However, the market focused on the bottom line, as earnings per share of $0.99 missed the forecast of $1.10. Profitability was also a concern, with the operating margin falling to 7.4% from 8.7% in the same period last year. Overall, the significant earnings miss and contracting margins signaled weaker operational efficiency, driving negative investor sentiment despite the stable top-line results.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Lindsay’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock dropped 2.4% on the news that the company faced investor apprehension ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings report, as analysts expected a drop in revenue. Projections pointed to a 2.5% decline in revenue compared to the same period in the previous year. This forecast might have concerned investors, especially since the company had missed Wall Street's revenue estimates three times over the last two years, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the announcement.
Lindsay is flat since the beginning of the year, and at $116.69 per share, it is trading 21.3% below its 52-week high of $148.29 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Lindsay’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,039.
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