As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q4. Today, we are looking at specialty equipment distributors stocks, starting with Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN).

Historically, specialty equipment distributors have boasted deep selection and expertise in sometimes narrow areas like single-use packaging or unique lighting equipment. Additionally, the industry has evolved to include more automated industrial equipment and machinery over the last decade, driving efficiencies and enabling valuable data collection. Specialty equipment distributors whose offerings keep up with these trends can take share in a still-fragmented market, but like the broader industrials sector, this space is at the whim of economic cycles that impact the capital spending and manufacturing propelling industry volumes.

The 8 specialty equipment distributors stocks we track reported a slower Q4. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 5.3% since the latest earnings results.

Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN)

Founded in 1991, Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) specializes in refrigerant services and solutions, providing refrigerant sales, reclamation, and recycling.

Hudson Technologies reported revenues of $34.64 million, down 22.8% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 8.7%. Overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Brian F. Coleman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hudson Technologies, commented, “Our fourth quarter 2024 results reflected the seasonally slower sales activity we have historically seen outside of our nine-month selling season. Full year 2024 results reflected a challenging selling season in which market pricing for certain HFC refrigerants declined by up to 45% from last year’s levels which more than offset the slight gains we achieved in sales volume. The decline in refrigerant pricing was driven by higher than anticipated inventory levels up stream in the marketplace built up in advance of the HFC phaseout. During our many decades in this industry, we have successfully weathered unfavorable pricing environments by staying focused on what we can control – ensuring that our customers have the right refrigerants where and when they need them and promoting recovery and reclamation activities as our industry transitions to lower GWP equipment and refrigerants. We navigated 2024 with that focus and remain committed to our operating strategy. In fact, our overall reclaim activity increased 18% in 2024.

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Hudson Technologies Total Revenue

Hudson Technologies delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 13.2% since reporting and currently trades at $6.34.

Read our full report on Hudson Technologies here, it’s free.

Best Q4: United Rentals (NYSE:URI)

Owning the largest rental fleet in the world, United Rentals (NYSE:URI) provides equipment rental and related services to construction, industrial, and infrastructure industries.

United Rentals reported revenues of $4.10 billion, up 9.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.9%. The business had a strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ organic revenue and adjusted operating income estimates.United Rentals Total Revenue

United Rentals pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 14.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $645.90.

Is now the time to buy United Rentals? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q4: Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ:RELL)

Founded in 1947, Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ:RELL) is a distributor of power grid and microwave tubes as well as consumables related to those products.

Richardson Electronics reported revenues of $49.49 million, up 12.1% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 3.5%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA and EPS estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 24.2% since the results and currently trades at $11.15.

Read our full analysis of Richardson Electronics’s results here.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT)

Founded as Lollicup, Karat Packaging (NASDAQ: KRT) distributes and manufactures environmentally-friendly disposable foodservice packaging solutions.

Karat Packaging reported revenues of $101.6 million, up 6.3% year on year. This result missed analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. It was a softer quarter as it also logged a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is down 4.3% since reporting and currently trades at $27.53.

Read our full, actionable report on Karat Packaging here, it’s free.

Alta (NYSE:ALTG)

Founded in 1984, Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) is a provider of industrial and construction equipment and services across the Midwest and Northeast United States.

Alta reported revenues of $498.1 million, down 4.5% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.6%. Zooming out, it was a slower quarter as it logged a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is up 9.9% since reporting and currently trades at $5.60.

Read our full, actionable report on Alta here, it’s free.

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