Jabil Circuit, Inc. (NYSE:JBL) late Wednesday [Mar 15, 2017 | 4:01pm] posted market-beating fiscal second quarter earnings results, although its third quarter outlook could badly miss Wall Street’s expectations.

Written by StockNews.com

The St. Petersburg, FL-based electronic manufacturing specialist reported Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48, which was $0.02 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.46.

Revenues were flat from last year at $4.4 billion, but also topped analysts’ view for $4.37 billion.

Looking ahead, Jabil forecast Q3 EPS of $0.16 to $0.39, a very wide range that could badly miss analysts’ $0.28 view. JBL also sees Q3 revenues of $4.25 to $4.55, straddling Wall Street’s consensus $4.38 estimate.

The company commented on its latest results via press release:

“The performance of our team during the second quarter was exceptional with nearly all of our businesses delivering at or above plan,” said CEO Mark Mondello. “I believe our results reflect the effectiveness of our strategy to increase the quality and diversification of our cash flows and earnings,” he added.

“Jabil’s focus remains on our commitment to return capital to shareholders, our multi-year financial objectives and the goal of becoming the world’s most advanced manufacturing solutions company,” he added.

Jabil Circuit, Inc. shares fell $0.38 (-1.41%) to $26.60 in after-hours trading Wednesday. Year-to-date, JBL had gained 14.34% prior to today’s report, versus a 6.87% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

JBL currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #4 of 43 stocks in the Technology – Services category.