Spotting Winners: Kimball Electronics (NASDAQ:KE) And Electrical Systems Stocks In Q3

Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Verra Mobility and the best and worst performers in the electrical systems industry.

Like many equipment and component manufacturers, electrical systems companies are buoyed by secular trends such as connectivity and industrial automation. More specific pockets of strong demand include Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and the 5G telecom upgrade cycle, which can benefit companies whose cables and conduits fit those needs. But like the broader industrials sector, these companies are also at the whim of economic cycles. Interest rates, for example, can greatly impact projects that drive demand for these products.

The 12 electrical systems stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.1% below.

While some electrical systems stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 3% since the latest earnings results.

Verra Mobility

Aiming to wrap technology and data around a historically manual and paper-based industry, Verra Mobility (NYSE:VRRM) is a leading provider of smart mobility technology to address tolls and violations, title and registration services, as well as safety and traffic enforcement.

Verra Mobility reported revenues of $261.9 million, up 16.1% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 9.8%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and full-year revenue guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

"We delivered a strong third quarter with all key financial measures ahead of our internal expectations," said David Roberts, President and CEO, Verra Mobility.

Verra Mobility delivered the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 11.6% since reporting and currently trades at $21.08.

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

Best Q3: Thermon

Creating the first packaged tracing systems, Thermon is a leading provider of engineered industrial process heating solutions for process industries.

Thermon reported revenues of $131.7 million, up 14.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 10.3%. The business had a stunning quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates.

Thermon pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 16.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $34.24.

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

Weakest Q3: Atkore

Protecting the things that power our world, Atkore designs and manufactures electrical safety products.

Atkore reported revenues of $752 million, down 4.6% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Atkore delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 6.1% since the results and currently trades at $62.47.

Read our full analysis of Atkore’s results here.

Acuity Brands

One of the pioneers of smart lights, Acuity designs and manufactures light fixtures and building management systems used in various industries.

Acuity Brands reported revenues of $1.21 billion, up 17.1% year on year. This result lagged analysts' expectations by 1.5%. Taking a step back, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates.

The stock is up 3.2% since reporting and currently trades at $355.48.

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

Vertiv

Formerly part of Emerson Electric, Vertiv manufactures and services infrastructure technology products for data centers and communication networks.

Vertiv reported revenues of $2.68 billion, up 29% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 3.4%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Vertiv achieved the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 2.5% since reporting and currently trades at $170.41.

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

What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after markets faded the Nvidia rally in the morning session, as investors remained uncertain about future rate cuts. 

While the trading day began with significant enthusiasm, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 700 points and the Nasdaq Composite up 2.6%, momentum quickly evaporated as the session wore on. The primary catalyst for this sharp reversal was a stronger-than-expected jobs report, which reduced the implied odds of a December interest rate cut to less than 40%.This macroeconomic anxiety overshadowed stellar corporate performance. Nvidia initially surged 5% on blockbuster earnings and CEO Jensen Huang's bullish outlook on "off the charts" demand for Blackwell chips. However, the stock eventually turned negative, acting as a heavy weight that dragged the broader indices into the red. The sell-off partly reflects a deepening caution regarding high-flying tech valuations in a "higher-for-longer" rate environment. 

Consequently, investors appeared to rotate capital away from volatile growth sectors and toward defensive staples, evidenced by Walmart's 6% gain following its own earnings beat. Ultimately, the market could not sustain the morning's euphoria, as traders prioritized rate realities over AI potential.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Electrical Systems company Vertiv fell 5%. Is now the time to buy Vertiv? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Renewable Energy company Nextracker fell 3.8%. Is now the time to buy Nextracker? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Aerospace company Rocket Lab fell 7.5%. Is now the time to buy Rocket Lab? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Renewable Energy company Fluence Energy fell 6.2%. Is now the time to buy Fluence Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Renewable Energy company Bloom Energy fell 12.3%. Is now the time to buy Bloom Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On Bloom Energy (BE)

Bloom Energy’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 72 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Bloom Energy and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 16 days ago when the stock dropped 2.7% on the news that markets became increasingly wary of high valuations following a significant AI-driven rally. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell approximately 1.4% as a wave of caution swept through the market. A key example of this trend is Palantir Technologies, which saw its shares drop around 7% despite reporting record quarterly results that surpassed analyst estimates and raising its full-year revenue outlook. This seemingly contradictory movement highlighted a broader sentiment shift. Investors appeared to be engaging in profit-taking, concerned that the recent surge in AI-related stocks had led to stretched valuations. This broader market caution affected high-growth technology companies that had previously surged on AI optimism but faced increased scrutiny, signaling a potential cooling-off period for the sector. Adding serious weight to this caution, leadership at both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley highlighted the possibility of a correction in the equity markets over the next couple of years.Despite the euphoria driven by AI optimism and the promise of future rate cuts, these banks viewed this cooling-off period not as a disaster, but as a necessary and healthy feature of a long-term bull market.

Bloom Energy is up 294% since the beginning of the year, but at $92.18 per share, it is still trading 35.3% below its 52-week high of $142.37 from November 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Bloom Energy’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $4,937.