Alight (ALIT 10.02%) stock is losing ground in Wednesday’s trading. The company’s share price was up 9.9% as of 3:30 p.m. ET, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Alight published its third-quarter results before the market opened this morning, posting earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations and sales that came in lower than anticipated. The company recorded non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $0.14 on revenue of $813 million. Meanwhile, the average analyst estimate had called for per-share earnings of $0.13 on revenue of roughly $829.5 million.
Alight posts strong earnings and bookings in Q3
Alight’s revenue grew 8% year over year in the third quarter. Sales for its employer solutions segment were up roughly 9% compared to the prior-year period, and business-processes-as-a-service (BPaaS) bookings jumped 26% to hit $262 million.
While sales came in below the average analyst target, Alight managed to grow earnings per share by roughly 17% year over year in the quarter. Even better, the technology and consulting services specialist issued a significant increase for its full-year earnings guidance range.
What’s next for Alight?
For the full-year period, Alight is targeting revenue between $3.47 billion and $3.51 billion — representing annual growth of 11.5% at the midpoint of the target. Meanwhile, the company now expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $0.65 and $0.69 — up from its previous guidance for earnings between $0.62 per share and $0.67 per share.
Macroeconomic pressures could curb Alight’s growth opportunities in the near term, but it looks like the company has established a solid sales base. Management notes it already has $2.7 billion in revenue under contract for 2024.
On the other hand, the company still has a lot of debt on the books. Alight ended the quarter with cash and equivalents totaling $276 million and total debt of roughly $2.8 billion. The company will have to prove it can continue growing effectively while also managing its debt load.
Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
