Why Paccar Stock Slipped on Tuesday

Paccar (NASDAQ: PCAR) published its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results Tuesday morning, and investors didn't seem too impressed by its performance. As a result, the storied truck maker's stock fell by more than 2% in price on the day. This did not compare favorably to the 0.9% gain of the bellwether S&P 500 index.

Falls on both the top and bottom lines

For the quarter, Paccar's total revenue was just over $7.9 billion, representing a notable come-down from the nearly $9.1 billion in the same period of 2023. Net income was also significantly lower, as it landed at $872 million ($1.66 per share) from the year-ago profit of $1.4 billion.

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While Paccar beat the average analyst estimate of nearly $7.6 billion for revenue, it fell a bit short of that for profitability. Collectively, the pundits tracking its stock were modeling per-share net income of $1.70.

The top-line decline was due mostly to a slide in Paccar's major revenue generator -- its trucks, parts, and other segments. This suffered a 14% decline to under $7.4 billion. On a brighter note, financial services increased its take by 12%, but given its relatively small size, this didn't come close to offsetting the drop in the company's bread-and-butter activities. Financial services's revenue was $544 million for the quarter.

Unit sales guidance proffered

Paccar did not provide financial guidance for either its current quarter or the entirety of 2025. It did proffer estimates for unit sales, writing that it expects to sell 250,000 to 280,000 trucks this year in North America (2024 figure: 268,000). European volumes are expected to drop to 270,000 to 300,000; the 2024 number of registrations was 316,00. Finally, South American truck sales are forecast at 115,000 to 125,000 versus 119,000 last year.

The company waxed optimistic about its business in the earnings release; what it didn't do was sufficiently explain the rather notable drops in sales. That alone is concerning. Investors will be hoping that Paccar can get its "truck" back on the road soon.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.