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		Story Stocks: Whirlpool (WHR) reports large EPS beat after several misses; co has been aggressive overseas Whirlpool (WHR) is rallying about 6% today following a very strong Q4 report this morning. You're probably familiar with Whirlpool, the largest major appliance manufacturer in the world with $20 billion in annual sales. However, a little additional color is always helpful. Its major brands include Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Amana etc. Its sales breakdown is as follows: Washers/Dryers at 29% of revenue, Refrigerators/Freezers at 29%, Cooking Appliances at 18% and Other (dishwashers, mixers, compressors etc.) at 24%.  Turning to the Q4 results, non-GAAP EPS rose 19% YoY to $3.52 while revenue rose 17.9% YoY to $6.0 bln. Both results were better than expected, especially the EPS which usually means that margins came in stronger than expectations. WHR also guided in-line for FY15.  Of note, WHR was pretty active on the M&A front in 2014, especially targeting foreign appliance makers in order to boost sales in those regions. For example, Whirlpool bought a 51% stake in China's Hefei Sanyo for $551 mln in order to boost its sales in Asia. Asia had represented only about 5% of total sales before the deal but there are estimates that this acquisition will double sales to Asia. Whirlpool also bought a majority stake in Italy-based Indesit for $1 bln. It's one of Europe's largest manufacturers of major appliances. Acquisitions accounted contributed approximately $1 billion of sales in Q4.  We thought it was interesting on the call that, from a bigger picture perspective, Whirlpool outlined its long-term growth strategy. It has three main pillars. The first is geographical expansion. Whirlpool's recent acquisitions have the ability to truly transform and change its business position in both Europe and China. So more exposure overseas, while at the same time, WHR is benefitting from a recovering US market which the company expects will continue not only in 2015 but over a number of years ahead. This is helping offset sluggish growth in emerging markets such as Brazil, China, India, and Russia.  The second core pillar is product and brand innovation. WHR is continuing to accelerate its investments in those relevant technologies and new products which clearly benefit its end consumers. WHR is also continuing to focus on higher margin categories. And the third core pillar is to expand upon what the company believes is the best global cost structure in its industry.  In sum, this was a very nice quarter for Whirlpool. They had missed EPS expectations in each of the prior four quarters heading into Q4 so to report such a strong beat this time was nice for investors to see. It seems that margins came in much better than expected and the recent acquisitions added some nice growth to the top line.

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		Story Stocks: Littlefuse Trades Down Following Q4 and FY14 Results; Issues Q1, FY15 Outlook Littelfuse (LFUS 93.10, -8.05) has rebounded some off early morning losses following the company's Q4 (Dec) earnings. LFUS reported EPS of $1.02, which was worse than expected, and revenues of $206.6 million, which was better than expected. The company also issued downside guidance for Q1 EPS and revenues. If you're not familiar, LFUS designs, manufacturers, and sells a wide range of electronic, automotive, and industrial products throughout the world. It reports its business results in three segments: Electronics, Automotive, and Electrical. In terms of the results, LFUS reported electronics book-to-bill ratio of 1.06 for Q4. Operating income was negatively impacted be foreign currency effects, negatively impacting operating income by ~$2.1 million in Q4. Year-end true up of certain accruals affected income to the tune of $1.9 million. In addition, performance issues at some plants negatively impacted income by about $1.0 million.  Operating income for two of the three segments declined, Electronics and Electrical. Electronics (LFUS' largest business segment) declined 6% to $16.2 million, and Electrical declined 44% to $3.1 million (albeit Electrical is the smallest business segment). The bright spot was Automotive which improved 3% year-over-year to $9.9 million. Management noted that while it will continue to be impacted by currency headwinds for the foreseeable future, it will also be taking a number of corrective actions including selective price increases, more aggressive expense controls and, where possible, moving faster on our various restructuring efforts. In 2015, LFUS expects currency headwinds to impact earnings by about $30 million, or $0.40 per share compared to 2014. The company noted even with currency headwinds, it expects to achieve 2015 EPS above $5.00, which is below what is expected. In terms of guidance, the company noted it expects Q1 EPS of $1.10-1.14 (negatively affected by currency by $0.10 compared to the prior year), below what is expected. The company also sees Q1 revenues of $202-212 million, which is also below what is expected.  In spite of reporting better than expected revenues for Q4, it appears that investors are taking to heart the company's Q1 and FY15 guidance and problems with production. The stock has rebounded some off daily lows, and now sits about 8.0% lower on the day.

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