Symbotic Inc. SYM is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 05, after market close.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues in the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $714.76 million, indicating 20.7% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate for earnings is pinned at 12 cents per share, remaining stable over the past 60 days and indicating a 340% surge from the year-ago quarter’s actual.
SYM’s earnings surprise history is impressive. In the four trailing quarters, its earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice and missed on the other occasion. The average beat is 279.9%.
Symbotic Price and EPS Surprise
Symbotic Inc. price-eps-surprise | Symbotic Inc. Quote
Q3 Earnings Whispers for SYM Stock
Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for SYM this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
SYM has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Factors Shaping SYM’s Q3 Results
In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Symbotic reported a backlog of $22.7 billion. We expect backlog to have been high in the fiscal third quarter as well. SYM’s top-line performance in the fiscal third quarter is likely to have been driven by the conversion of this significant backlog.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Symbotic expects revenues of $700 million to $720 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $80 million to $85 million. Free cash flow is also expected to be strong in the fiscal third quarter.
SYM’s overdependence on Walmart WMT raises concerns. The partnership with Walmart, SYM’s largest customer, accounts for a significant portion of its revenues, which is likely to have been the case in the fiscal third quarter as well. In January 2025, Symbotic completed the acquisition of Walmart’s advanced systems and robotics business. High costs are also likely to have pressured margins and bottom-line performance.
Overall operating costs are likely to have escalated due to elevated research and development costs and selling, general and administrative expenses. The company has been investing heavily to maintain a technological edge and scale its operations, which in turn has pushed costs up.
However, the acquisition of Fox Robotics earlier this year, which enhances SYM’s strategy of utilizing its software to orchestrate robots across the goods supply chain from the warehouse to the individual customer, is likely to have boosted operational efficiency.
SYM’s Price Performance
SYM’s shares have declined more than 31% over the past three months, underperforming its industry and fellow industry participant MediaAlpha MAX. Another industry player, Coherent Corp. COHR, has performed worse than Symbotic over the same time frame. While MediaAlpha has gained in excess of 51%, Coherent’s shares have declined in excess of 32%.
3-Month Price Comparison
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).