Electronic component provider Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS) reported Q4 CY2025 results exceeding the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 12.2% year on year to $593.9 million. On top of that, next quarter’s revenue guidance ($635 million at the midpoint) was surprisingly good and 3.5% above what analysts were expecting. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.69 per share was 6.2% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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“I am proud of our teams as we finished the year with significant momentum, delivering fourth quarter results above our guidance range and successfully closing the acquisition of Basler Electric,” said Greg Henderson, Littelfuse President and Chief Executive Officer.

Company Overview

The developer of the first blade-type automotive fuse, Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS) provides electrical protection and control components for the automotive, industrial, electronics, and telecommunications industries.

Revenue Growth

Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Over the last five years, Littelfuse grew its sales at an impressive 10.5% compounded annual growth rate. Its growth beat the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss cycles, industry trends, or a company capitalizing on catalysts such as a new contract win or a successful product line. Littelfuse’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed significantly as its revenue was flat over the last two years.

We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its most important segments, Electronics and Automotive, which are 58.1% and 27.6% of revenue. Over the last two years, Littelfuse’s Electronics (fuses and switches) and Automotive (trucks, commercial machinery, marine) revenues were flat.

This quarter, Littelfuse reported year-on-year revenue growth of 12.2%, and its $593.9 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 2%. Company management is currently guiding for a 14.6% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter.

Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 8% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is above average for the sector and suggests its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance.

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Operating Margin

Operating margin is one of the best measures of profitability because it tells us how much money a company takes home after procuring and manufacturing its products, marketing and selling those products, and most importantly, keeping them relevant through research and development.

Littelfuse has been an efficient company over the last five years. It was one of the more profitable businesses in the industrials sector, boasting an average operating margin of 12.6%. This result isn’t surprising as its high gross margin gives it a favorable starting point.

Analyzing the trend in its profitability, Littelfuse’s operating margin decreased by 17 percentage points over the last five years. This raises questions about the company’s expense base because its revenue growth should have given it leverage on its fixed costs, resulting in better economies of scale and profitability.

This quarter, Littelfuse generated an operating margin profit margin of negative 37.5%, down 30.6 percentage points year on year. Conversely, its revenue and gross margin actually rose, so we can assume it was less efficient because its operating expenses like marketing, R&D, and administrative overhead grew faster than its revenue.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

Littelfuse’s solid 10.8% annual EPS growth over the last five years aligns with its revenue performance. This tells us it maintained its per-share profitability as it expanded.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business.

Littelfuse’s two-year annual EPS declines of 4.7% were bad and lower than its flat revenue.

We can take a deeper look into Littelfuse’s earnings to better understand the drivers of its performance. Littelfuse’s operating margin has declined over the last two years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don’t tell us as much about a company’s fundamentals.

In Q4, Littelfuse reported adjusted EPS of $2.69, up from $2.04 in the same quarter last year. This print beat analysts’ estimates by 6.2%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Littelfuse’s full-year EPS of $10.68 to grow 18.3%.

Key Takeaways from Littelfuse’s Q4 Results

We were impressed by how significantly Littelfuse blew past analysts’ Electronics revenue expectations this quarter. We were also glad its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, we think this was a solid quarter with some key areas of upside. The stock remained flat at $296.20 immediately following the results.

Indeed, Littelfuse had a rock-solid quarterly earnings result, but is this stock a good investment here? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).