Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) Shares Down 10.3% on Disappointing Earnings

Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM)’s stock price was down 10.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $41.60 and last traded at $41.7370. Approximately 1,703,676 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 1,859,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.52.

The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $720.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $715.03 million. Symbotic had a negative return on equity of 0.68% and a negative net margin of 0.20%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.05) EPS.

More Symbotic News

Here are the key news stories impacting Symbotic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal third-quarter revenue rose 22% year over year to approximately $721 million, exceeding the roughly $715 million consensus estimate. The company also reported $55 million in net income, compared with a $21 million loss in the year-ago quarter. Symbotic Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management projected fourth-quarter revenue of $760 million to $780 million, broadly in line with the $770.7 million analyst consensus, indicating continued demand for its warehouse-automation systems.
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings call emphasized margin gains, ongoing fourth-quarter expansion and a broader product portfolio, with management highlighting potentially larger growth inflections in fiscal 2027 and early 2028. SYM Q3 Earnings Call Puts Margin Gains and Expansion in Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $75 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Former Bain Capital co-chair Steve Pagliuca joined Symbotic’s board, potentially adding strategic and financial expertise as the company expands its AI-enabled robotics operations. Symbotic Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Izilda Martins sold shares to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards, while directors Todd Krasnow and Charles Kane sold shares through pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The transactions may affect sentiment but appear limited in signaling value.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted quarterly EPS was $0.09, below the $0.12-$0.13 analyst consensus. The 25% earnings shortfall overshadowed the revenue beat and renewed concerns about Symbotic’s ability to convert rapid growth into consistent profits. Symbotic Inc. Misses Q3 Earnings Estimates

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SYM shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Symbotic in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered Symbotic from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Symbotic from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research downgraded Symbotic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Symbotic in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.92.

Insider Activity

In other Symbotic news, Director Todd Krasnow sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.27, for a total value of $90,540.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Izilda P. Martins sold 27,463 shares of Symbotic stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $1,120,490.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,976.80. The trade was a 43.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 143,433 shares of company stock valued at $6,627,326 in the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Symbotic

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Symbotic by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,932,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,237,137 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Symbotic by 51,346.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,174,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178,615 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Symbotic by 85.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,530,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,587,000 after buying an additional 1,165,513 shares in the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Symbotic in the 4th quarter worth $63,034,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Symbotic in the 4th quarter worth about $33,997,000.

Symbotic Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -823.90, a P/E/G ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.94.

Symbotic Company Profile

Symbotic Inc (NASDAQ: SYM) is a provider of advanced warehouse automation and robotics systems designed to improve throughput, space utilization and labor productivity in distribution centers and fulfillment operations. The company develops integrated hardware and software solutions that automate the storage, retrieval, sorting and palletizing of goods, positioning itself as a systems integrator for material handling challenges faced by large-scale retailers, wholesalers and third-party logistics providers.

Products and services typically include autonomous robotic vehicles and shuttle systems, automated storage-and-retrieval equipment, robotic picking and palletizing cells, conveyors and sortation, together with control and management software that coordinates fleet operations and inventory flow.