Analyst Likes Mohawk's Earnings Report

New York, NY, May 5, 2014 -- Analyst Stifel Nicolaus said that Mohawk's earnings report last week should be viewed positively, even though the firm's net sales numbers fell short of its estimates.

Both arpet and laminate sales were below expectations.

"For a manufacturing based business to experience weak overall volumes and still post significant earnings leverage speaks to the strength of the management team and strength in market position around the globe," Stifel said.

Mohawk improved margins across all three business segments and beat Stifel's earnings estimate of $1.13 by $0.10 per share.

"The carpet margin improvement on a material reduction in unit sales (weather impacted) was impressive," Stifel said.