The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ: HDSN) and the rest of the specialty equipment distributors stocks fared in Q3.

Historically, specialty equipment distributors have boasted deep selection and expertise in sometimes narrow areas like single-use packaging or unique lighting equipment. Additionally, the industry has evolved to include more automated industrial equipment and machinery over the last decade, driving efficiencies and enabling valuable data collection. Specialty equipment distributors whose offerings keep up with these trends can take share in a still-fragmented market, but like the broader industrials sector, this space is at the whim of economic cycles that impact the capital spending and manufacturing propelling industry volumes.

The 8 specialty equipment distributors stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q3. As a group, revenues along with next quarter’s revenue guidance were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 6.1% since the latest earnings results.

Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ: HDSN)

Founded in 1991, Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ: HDSN) specializes in refrigerant services and solutions, providing refrigerant sales, reclamation, and recycling.

Hudson Technologies reported revenues of $74.01 million, up 19.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. Overall, it was a stunning quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 18.3% since reporting and currently trades at $7.05.

Is now the time to buy Hudson Technologies? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL)

Founded in 1947, Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL) is a distributor of power grid and microwave tubes as well as consumables related to those products.

Richardson Electronics reported revenues of $54.61 million, up 1.6% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates.

Richardson Electronics pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 1.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $10.79.

Is now the time to buy Richardson Electronics? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: Alta (NYSE: ALTG)

Founded in 1984, Alta Equipment Group (NYSE: ALTG) is a provider of industrial and construction equipment and services across the Midwest and Northeast United States.

Alta reported revenues of $422.6 million, down 5.8% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 8.4%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue and adjusted operating income estimates.

Alta delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 17.2% since the results and currently trades at $4.86.

Read our full analysis of Alta’s results here.

Herc (NYSE: HRI)

Formerly a subsidiary of Hertz Corporation and with a logo that still bears some similarities to its former parent, Herc Holdings (NYSE: HRI) provides equipment rental and related services to a wide range of industries.

Herc reported revenues of $1.30 billion, up 35.1% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. More broadly, it was a slower quarter as it logged full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Herc pulled off the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is up 15.5% since reporting and currently trades at $153.94.

Read our full, actionable report on Herc here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ: KRT)

Founded as Lollicup, Karat Packaging (NASDAQ: KRT) distributes and manufactures environmentally-friendly disposable foodservice packaging solutions.

Karat Packaging reported revenues of $124.5 million, up 10.4% year on year. This number was in line with analysts’ expectations. Aside from that, it was a slower quarter as it recorded a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is down 4.9% since reporting and currently trades at $22.84.

Read our full, actionable report on Karat Packaging here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn’t send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump’s November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there’s still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy.

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