Analyst Note
| Richard Hilgert |Narrow-moat Autoliv, supplier of air bags, seat belts, and steering wheels to the global auto industry, reported fourth-quarter earnings per share before special items of $2.19, $0.26 better than the FactSet sell-side consensus estimate of $1.93 and $0.35 ahead of the $1.84 reported last year. Revenue was 15% higher than the year-ago period, up $326 million to $2.5 billion. Excluding the positive currency effect, organic revenue was up 13%, significantly outperforming a roughly 2% increase in global light-vehicle production by nearly 11 percentage points with all major regions contributing to the outperformance. Autoliv stock was bid 5% higher on the results and on management’s positive 2021 outlook. The 3-star-rated shares currently trade at a 10% premium to our $85 fair value estimate.