Plexus Announces Fiscal Second Quarter Financial Results

NEENAH, WI, April 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ: PLXS) today announced financial results for our fiscal second quarter ended March 29, 2025, and guidance for our fiscal third quarter ending June 28, 2025.

• Reports fiscal second quarter 2025 revenue of $980 million, GAAP operating margin of 5.0% and GAAP diluted EPS of $1.41.
• Reports fiscal second quarter 2025 non-GAAP operating margin of 5.7% and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.66, excluding $0.25 of stock-based compensation expense.
• Initiates fiscal third quarter 2025 revenue guidance of $1.00 billion to $1.04 billion with GAAP diluted EPS of $1.40 to $1.55, including $0.25 of stock-based compensation expense. Fiscal third quarter non-GAAP EPS guidance of $1.65 to $1.80 excludes stock-based compensation expense.
  

Fiscal Second Quarter 2025 Information

• Won 42 manufacturing programs during the quarter representing $205 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production.
• Generated fiscal second quarter free cash flow of $16.5 million, contributing to fiscal year-to-date free cash flow of $43.6 million.
• Purchased $12.2 million of our shares at an average price of $141.18 per share under our 2025 Share Repurchase Program, leaving $25.0 million available under our existing $50.0 million authorization.
  

Todd Kelsey, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Plexus generated strong fiscal second quarter financial performance, demonstrating the continued momentum of our operational and working capital efficiency initiatives. We achieved revenue of $980 million, in-line with guidance, with non-GAAP operating margin of 5.7% at the high-end of guidance and non-GAAP EPS of $1.66 exceeding guidance. In addition, free cash flow exceeded our expectations.”

Patrick Jermain, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "Fiscal second quarter cash cycle of 68 days was favorable to expectations and consistent with the fiscal first quarter. We continue to drive reductions in our gross inventory balance, with this quarter representing the fifth consecutive quarter of improvement. Our favorable cash cycle performance benefited our fiscal second quarter return on invested capital of 13.7%, which exceeded our weighted average cost of capital by 480 basis points. Finally, we delivered better than expected free cash flow of $16.5 million, which we utilized to repurchase $12.2 million of our shares during the fiscal second quarter in support of our commitment to return cash to shareholders."

Mr. Kelsey added, “We delivered 42 fiscal second quarter manufacturing wins, representing $205 million in annualized revenue. Notably, this result included our largest ever sustaining services win in support of creating success for an industry-leading healthcare customer. Additionally, our engineering solutions team delivered its best quarterly wins performance in more than 5 years, highlighting the breadth of our global capabilities and the effectiveness of our diversification efforts.”

Mr. Kelsey continued, “We are guiding fiscal third quarter revenue of $1.00 to $1.04 billion, non-GAAP operating margin of 5.7% to 6.1% and non-GAAP EPS of $1.65 to $1.80. Furthermore, while conservatively assessing the remainder of the fiscal year and acknowledging the uncertainty associated with tariffs, we continue to anticipate achieving meaningful EPS growth in fiscal 2025, capitalizing upon revenue growth in each of our market sectors, robust operating margin performance and ongoing free cash flow deployment.”

Mr. Kelsey concluded, “Plexus uniquely supports customer success, leveraging our comprehensive product lifecycle solutions and passion for operational excellence delivered through our globally united team. Our ongoing strategic investments in talent, technology, facilities and advanced capabilities position Plexus to proactively navigate evolving landscapes and dynamic environments to enable our customers’ success.”

Business Segment and Market Sector Revenue

Plexus measures operational performance and allocates resources on a geographic segment basis. Plexus also reports revenue based on the market sector breakout set forth in the table below, which reflects Plexus’ market sector focused strategy. Top 10 customers comprised 51% of revenue during both the first and second quarter of fiscal 2025. This is up 3 percentage points from the second quarter of fiscal 2024.

Non-GAAP Supplemental Information

Plexus provides non-GAAP supplemental information, such as ROIC, economic return and free cash flow, because such measures are used for internal management goals and decision-making, and because they provide management and investors with additional insight into financial performance. In addition, management uses these and other non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS, to provide a better understanding of core performance for purposes of period-to-period comparisons. Plexus believes that these measures are also useful to investors because they provide further insight by eliminating the effect of non-recurring items that are not reflective of continuing operations. For additional information on non-GAAP measures, please refer to the attached Non-GAAP Supplemental Information tables.

ROIC and Economic Return

ROIC for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 was 13.7%. Plexus defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized adjusted operating income divided by average invested capital over a three-quarter period for the second fiscal quarter. Invested capital is defined as equity plus debt and operating lease obligations, less cash and cash equivalents. Plexus' weighted average cost of capital for fiscal 2025 is 8.9%. ROIC for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 less Plexus’ weighted average cost of capital resulted in an economic return of 4.8%.

Free Cash Flow

Plexus defines free cash flow as cash flows provided by operations less capital expenditures. For the three months ended March 29, 2025, cash flows provided by operations was $36.7 million, less capital expenditures of $20.2 million, resulting in free cash flow of $16.5 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Investor and Media Contact
Shawn Harrison
+1.920.969.6325
shawn.harrison@plexus.com

About Plexus
Since 1979, Plexus has helped create the products that build a better world. Driven by a passion for excellence, we partner with our customers to design, manufacture and service highly complex products in demanding regulatory environments. From life-saving medical devices and mission-critical aerospace and defense products to industrial automation systems and semiconductor capital equipment, our innovative solutions across the lifecycle of a product converge where advanced technology and human impact intersect. We provide these solutions to market-leading as well as disruptive global companies in the Aerospace/Defense, Healthcare/Life Sciences, and Industrial sectors, supported by a global team of over 20,000 members across our 26 facilities in the Americas ("AMER"), Asia-Pacific ("APAC") and Europe, Middle East and Africa ("EMEA") regions. For more information about Plexus, visit our website at www.plexus.com.

Safe Harbor and Fair Disclosure Statement
The statements contained in this press release that are guidance or which are not historical facts (such as statements in the future tense and statements including believe, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, goal, target and similar terms and concepts), including all discussions of periods which are not yet completed, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the effects of tariffs, trade disputes, trade agreements and other trade protection measures; the effect of inflationary pressures on our costs of production, profitability, and on the economic outlook of our markets; the effects of shortages and delays in obtaining components as a result of economic cycles, natural disasters or otherwise; the risk of customer delays, changes, cancellations or forecast inaccuracies in both ongoing and new programs; the ability to realize anticipated savings from restructuring or similar actions, as well as the adequacy of related charges as compared to actual expenses; the lack of visibility of future orders, particularly in view of changing economic conditions; the economic performance of the industries, sectors and customers we serve; the outcome of litigation and regulatory investigations and proceedings, including the results of any challenges with regard to such outcomes; the effects of the volume of revenue from certain sectors or programs on our margins in particular periods; our ability to secure new customers, maintain our current customer base and deliver product on a timely basis; the risks of concentration of work for certain customers; the particular risks relative to new or recent customers, programs or services, which risks include customer and other delays, start-up costs, potential inability to execute, the establishment of appropriate terms of agreements, and the lack of a track record of order volume and timing; the effects of start-up costs of new programs and facilities or the costs associated with the closure or consolidation of facilities; possible unexpected costs and operating disruption in transitioning programs, including transitions between Company facilities; the risk that new program wins and/or customer demand may not result in the expected revenue or profitability; the fact that customer orders may not lead to long-term relationships; our ability to manage successfully and execute a complex business model characterized by high product mix and demanding quality, regulatory, and other requirements; the risks associated with excess and obsolete inventory, including the risk that inventory purchased on behalf of our customers may not be consumed or otherwise paid for by the customer, resulting in an inventory write-off; risks related to information technology systems and data security; increasing regulatory and compliance requirements; any tax law changes and related foreign jurisdiction tax developments; current or potential future barriers to the repatriation of funds that are currently held outside of the United States as a result of actions taken by other countries or otherwise; the potential effects of jurisdictional results on our taxes, tax rates, and our ability to use deferred tax assets and net operating losses; the weakness of areas of the global economy; the effect of changes in the pricing and margins of products; raw materials and component cost fluctuations; the potential effect of fluctuations in the value of the currencies in which we transact business; the effects of changes in economic conditions, political conditions and regulatory matters in the United States and in the other countries in which we do business; the potential effect of other world or local events or other events outside our control (such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, escalating tensions between China and Taiwan or China and the United States, changes in energy prices, terrorism, global health epidemics and weather events); the impact of increased competition; an inability to successfully manage human capital; changes in financial accounting standards; and other risks detailed herein and in our other Securities and Exchange Commission filings, particularly in Risk Factors contained in our fiscal 2024 Form 10-K.