Cummins Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results

Columbus, Indiana
Cummins Corporate Headquarters - Columbus, Indiana

Key Points

Third quarter revenues of $5.1 billion; GAAP1 Net Income of $501 million

Third quarter EBITDA of 17.1 percent; Diluted EPS of $3.36

The company produced record quarterly operating cash flow of $1.2 billion

Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) today reported results for the third quarter of 2020.

Third quarter revenues of $5.1 billion decreased 11 percent from the same quarter in 2019. Sales in North America declined by 18 percent while international revenues were flat. Currency negatively impacted revenues by 1 percent primarily due to a weaker Brazilian Real. 

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the third quarter were $876 million (17.1 percent of sales), compared to $958 million (16.6 percent of sales) a year ago. 

“Cummins successfully translated increased sales into strong profits and produced record operating cash flow during the third quarter” said Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger. “I want to thank our employees all over the globe once again for their dedication to our company and to our customers. Over the last six months we have faced both the most severe decline in quarterly sales in our history as well as the largest sequential increase. We continue to work safely and effectively through an incredibly challenging period, meeting our commitments to customers who provide products critical to the functioning of the global economy.”

Net income attributable to Cummins in the third quarter was $501 million ($3.36 per diluted share) compared to $622 million ($3.97 per diluted share) in 2019. The tax rate in the third quarter was 26.5 percent and was negatively impacted by $31 million ($0.21 per diluted share) of discrete tax items.

“We continue to advance existing products and invest in new technology while returning cash to shareholders,” said Chief Financial Officer Mark Smith. “In October we announced a 3% increase to our quarterly dividend, which will make 2020 the eleventh consecutive year of increases to Cummins’ dividend.”

2020 Outlook:

The company currently expects fourth quarter revenues to be similar to third quarter levels, with higher demand in North America truck markets and continued improvement in aftermarket sales, partially offset by lower demand in China.

On October 1st, the company ended temporary salary reductions that began in April. Compensation expense is projected to increase by approximately $90 million dollars in the fourth quarter due to the end of these salary reductions.

“We are encouraged by the recovery in demand across our markets in the third quarter,” said Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger. “We will continue to manage cautiously through the remainder of the year as visibility on future orders remains low and the impact of the virus on economies around the world remains difficult to predict." 

Third Quarter 2020 Highlights:

  • The company completed an aggregate $2 billion debt offering of 5, 10, and 30-year maturities. The company’s long-term credit ratings remain unchanged at A+ from Standard & Poor’s and A2 from Moody’s with stable outlooks
  • A collaboration with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has resulted in the ability to produce enough filter media to supply more than a million face masks and respirators per day to U.S. healthcare facilities
  • Cummins was awarded over $12 million of funding for five separate Department of Energy projects related to PEM and Solid Oxide fuel cell and electrolyzer technologies
  • The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $1.311 to $1.35 a share

1 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

View the full Q3 2020 Earnings Release

Forward-looking disclosure statement

Information provided in this release that is not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding our forecasts, guidance, preliminary results, expectations, hopes, beliefs and intentions on strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to our plans and expectations for our revenues and EBITDA. Our actual future results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements because of a number of factors, including, but not limited to: any adverse consequences resulting from entering into the Settlement Agreements, including required additional mitigation projects, adverse reputational impacts and potential resulting legal actions; increased scrutiny from regulatory agencies, as well as unpredictability in the adoption, implementation and enforcement of emission standards around the world; evolving environmental and climate change legislation and regulatory initiatives; changes in international, national and regional trade laws, regulations and policies; changes in taxation; global legal and ethical compliance costs and risks; future bans or limitations on the use of diesel-powered products; raw material, transportation and labor price fluctuations and supply shortages; aligning our capacity and production with our demand; the actions of, and income from, joint ventures and other investees that we do not directly control; large truck manufacturers' and original equipment manufacturers' customers discontinuing outsourcing their engine supply needs or experiencing financial distress, or change in control;  product recalls; variability in material and commodity costs; the development of new technologies that reduce demand for our current products and services; lower than expected acceptance of new or existing products or services; product liability claims; our sales mix of products; climate change, global warming, more stringent climate change regulations, accords, mitigation efforts, greenhouse gas regulations or other legislation designed to address climate change; our plan to reposition our portfolio of product offerings through exploration of strategic acquisitions, divestitures or exiting the production of certain product lines or product categories and related uncertainties of such decisions; increasing interest rates; challenging markets for talent and ability to attract, develop and retain key personnel; exposure to potential security breaches or other disruptions to our information technology (IT) environment and data security; the use of artificial intelligence in our business and in our products and challenges with properly managing its use; political, economic and other risks from operations in numerous countries including political, economic and social uncertainty and the evolving globalization of our business; competitor activity; increasing competition, including increased global competition among our customers in emerging markets; failure to meet sustainability expectations or standards, or achieve our sustainability goals; labor relations or work stoppages; foreign currency exchange rate changes; the performance of our pension plan assets and volatility of discount rates; the price and availability of energy; continued availability of financing, financial instruments and financial resources in the amounts, at the times and on the terms required to support our future business; and other risks detailed from time to time in our SEC filings, including particularly in the Risk Factors section of our 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are made only as of the date of this release and we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More detailed information about factors that may affect our performance may be found in our filings with the SEC, which are available at https://www.sec.gov or at https://investor.cummins.com in the Investor Relations section of our website. 

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