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Gentex (GNTX) popped 16% on Friday following a surprisingly good Q2 report. That was followed by Gentex being added to Briefing.com's YIELD report late Friday, which tracks share repurchases and dividends. As a result, the name caught our attention and made us want to dig into the story a bit. This automotive supplier (dimmable mirrors, camera-based driver assistance, connected car) beat on EPS/revs, while also raising FY25 revs pretty substantially.

• The Q2 period began with a flurry of activity that has not slowed down. Gentex closed on its acquisition of VOXX on April 1, then moved quickly into a chaotic period of global trade uncertainty that lasted for the entire quarter and remains unresolved. Nevertheless, Gentex said it was a very productive quarter as it was able to perform at a very high level and its operational efficiency improved significantly yr/yr.
• Revenue rose a healthy 14.8% yr/yr to $657.9 mln, which was much better than expected and its highest growth since 4Q23. In fairness, the VOXX addition helped boost growth. However, given the impact that tariffs and counter-tariffs have had on demand for its products, especially in the China market, Gentex was pleased with its results.
• Notably, Gentex had 18 net new nameplate launches of its interior and exterior auto dimming mirrors and electronic features in Q2. Over half of these launches included advanced feature content, with Full Display Mirrors (FDM) and HomeLink being the primary technologies introduced. There are YouTube videos of the FDM, we can see why it's popular. This product has been one of Gentex's primary growth drivers.
• In Q2, FDM launched on the Cadillac VISTIQ, Ferrari 296 GTB, Genesis GV60, Hyundai IONIQ 9, and the Mitsubishi Outlander, bringing its total number of nameplates launched to 139. With six months of actual performance and improved visibility around program launches, Gentex now expects FY25 FDM unit shipments to increase by 150-300K units compared to 2024. Interest in FDM remains strong, even in a challenging production environment, particularly in North America.
• The buybacks are another key part of the Gentex story. The stock has been weak in recent months given the tariffs. However, management apparently sees its stock price as a value buy. GNTX has increased share buybacks. During Q2, it repurchased 5.7 mln shares for $126.2 mln. And year-to-date, it has repurchased 8.8 mln shares for $202 mln. But they are not done apparently. In mid-July mgmt authorized an additional 40 mln shares, representing more than 18% of shares outstanding, which is a huge amount.

Given the flurry of earnings announcements last week, it was easy for Gentex to get lost in the shuffle. However, we wanted to flag the name, especially in light of the increased share buyback activity which propelled it into our YIELD rankings. Sentiment has been low for Gentex recently, but management apparently sees value down here. The stock gapped higher on Friday, so caution is warranted, but there are some positives here.