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As the Q3 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the inspection instruments industry, including Viavi Solutions and its peers.

Measurement and inspection instrument companies may enjoy more steady demand because products such as water meters are non-discretionary and mandated for replacement at predictable intervals. In the last decade, digitization and data collection have driven innovation in the space, leading to incremental sales. But like the broader industrials sector, measurement and inspection instrument companies are at the whim of economic cycles. Interest rates, for example, can greatly impact civil, commercial, and residential construction projects that drive demand.

The 5 inspection instruments stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.5% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 2.9% on average since the latest earnings results.

Best Q3: Viavi Solutions

Once known as JDS Uniphase before its 2015 rebranding, Viavi Solutions provides testing, monitoring and assurance solutions for telecommunications, cloud, enterprise, military, and other critical networks and infrastructure.

Viavi Solutions reported revenues of $299.1 million, up 25.6% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Viavi Solutions pulled off the fastest revenue growth of the whole group. The stock is up 33.7% since reporting and currently trades at $18.71.

Keysight

Spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 2014, Keysight offers electronic measurement products for use in various sectors.

Keysight reported revenues of $1.42 billion, up 10.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ backlog estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Keysight scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 20.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $213.66.

Weakest Q3: Itron

Founded by a small group of engineers who wanted to build a more efficient way to read utility meters, Itron offers energy and water management products for the utility industry, municipalities, and industrial customers.

Itron reported revenues of $581.6 million, down 5.5% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. It may have had the worst quarter among its peers, but its results were still good as it also locked in EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Itron delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 29.3% since the results and currently trades at $97.68.

Read our full analysis of Itron’s results here.

Badger Meter

The developer of the world’s first frost-proof water meter in 1905, Badger Meter provides water control and measure equipment to various industries.

Badger Meter reported revenues of $235.7 million, up 13.1% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is down 3% since reporting and currently trades at $181.83.

Read our full, actionable report on Badger Meter here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Teledyne

Playing a role in mapping the ocean floor as we know it today, Teledyne offers digital imaging and instrumentation products for various industries.

Teledyne reported revenues of $1.54 billion, up 6.7% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is down 7.1% since reporting and currently trades at $532.78.

Read our full, actionable report on Teledyne here, it’s free for active Edge members.

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 Q3. Today, we are looking at inspection instruments stocks, starting with Keysight .

Measurement and inspection instrument companies may enjoy more steady demand because products such as water meters are non-discretionary and mandated for replacement at predictable intervals. In the last decade, digitization and data collection have driven innovation in the space, leading to incremental sales. But like the broader industrials sector, measurement and inspection instrument companies are at the whim of economic cycles. Interest rates, for example, can greatly impact civil, commercial, and residential construction projects that drive demand.

The 4 inspection instruments stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4% 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 7.1% since the latest earnings results.

Best Q3: Keysight

Spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 2014, Keysight offers electronic measurement products for use in various sectors.

Keysight reported revenues of $1.42 billion, up 10.3% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ backlog estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Keysight pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 15.5% since reporting and currently trades at $205.14.

Badger Meter

The developer of the world’s first frost-proof water meter in 1905, Badger Meter provides water control and measure equipment to various industries.

Badger Meter reported revenues of $235.7 million, up 13.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Badger Meter achieved the fastest revenue growth among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 2.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $182.39.

Weakest Q3: Itron

Founded by a small group of engineers who wanted to build a more efficient way to read utility meters, Itron offers energy and water management products for the utility industry, municipalities, and industrial customers.

Itron reported revenues of $581.6 million, down 5.5% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. It may have had the worst quarter among its peers, but its results were still good as it also locked in EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Itron delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 30.6% since the results and currently trades at $95.83.

Read our full analysis of Itron’s results here.

Teledyne

Playing a role in mapping the ocean floor as we know it today, Teledyne offers digital imaging and instrumentation products for various industries.

Teledyne reported revenues of $1.54 billion, up 6.7% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. It was a strong quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is down 10.5% since reporting and currently trades at $513.68.

Read our full, actionable report on Teledyne here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Looking back on inspection instruments stocks’ Q3 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Badger Meter and its peers.

Measurement and inspection instrument companies may enjoy more steady demand because products such as water meters are non-discretionary and mandated for replacement at predictable intervals. In the last decade, digitization and data collection have driven innovation in the space, leading to incremental sales. But like the broader industrials sector, measurement and inspection instrument companies are at the whim of economic cycles. Interest rates, for example, can greatly impact civil, commercial, and residential construction projects that drive demand.

The 4 inspection instruments stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4% 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 5.9% since the latest earnings results.

Badger Meter

The developer of the world’s first frost-proof water meter in 1905, Badger Meter provides water control and measure equipment to various industries.

Badger Meter reported revenues of $235.7 million, up 13.1% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

“We demonstrated solid operating leverage in the third quarter on strength in both sales and profitability as we continued to successfully integrate the SmartCover acquisition and build on record growth in our core business in recent periods," said Kenneth C. Bockhorst, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Badger Meter pulled off the fastest revenue growth of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 5.3% since reporting and currently trades at $177.39.

Read why we think that Badger Meter is one of the best inspection instruments stocks, our full report is free.

Best Q3: Keysight

Spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 2014, Keysight offers electronic measurement products for use in various sectors.

Keysight reported revenues of $1.42 billion, up 10.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ backlog estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Keysight achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 20.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $214.16.

Is now the time to buy Keysight? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: Itron

Founded by a small group of engineers who wanted to build a more efficient way to read utility meters, Itron offers energy and water management products for the utility industry, municipalities, and industrial customers.

Itron reported revenues of $581.6 million, down 5.5% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. It may have had the worst quarter among its peers, but its results were still good as it also locked in EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Itron delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 28.8% since the results and currently trades at $98.39.

Read our full analysis of Itron’s results here.

Teledyne

Playing a role in mapping the ocean floor as we know it today, Teledyne offers digital imaging and instrumentation products for various industries.

Teledyne reported revenues of $1.54 billion, up 6.7% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also put up a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is down 9.9% since reporting and currently trades at $517.

Read our full, actionable report on Teledyne here, it’s free for active Edge members.