- Applied Industrial Technologies is leveraging a broad, strong industrial recovery, with almost all of the company's end-markets growing again.
- Management is committing to automation as a major future driver, with the company looking to not just distribute automation technologies, but work with customers on design/build/integrate services.
- AIT is rare among distributors in seeing long-term gross margin improvement, as management has prioritized mix and higher-value components where uptime matters more than lowest cost.
- Sentiment and less-than-spectacular operating margins may be short-term risks, but the valuation looks interesting today even after a strong move over the last year.
For further details see:
Automation And Catch-Up Capex Make Applied Industrial Technologies A Name To Watch