BUZZ-Genuine Parts shares drop after the company lowers upper range of current fiscal year earnings forecast

October 20 - ** Genuine Parts (GPC.N) shares fell more than 6% to close at $121.94 after releasing its third-quarter earnings report

** The auto parts distributor lowered its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance from $7.50–$8.00 to $7.50–$7.75

**According to LSEG data, the new forecast is below Wall Street’s expectation of $7.78

** The company also reduced its full-year GAAP earnings per share guidance from $5.90–$6.40 to $5.60–$5.85

** Third-quarter adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.07, beating analysts’ forecast of $2.05

** Third-quarter net sales amounted to $6.52 billion, in line with market expectations

** Third-quarter net profit was $224.4 million, compared with $226.2 million in the same period last year

** CEO Will Stengel said that the plan announced in February to split the company into GPC and Motion is still on track to be implemented in the first quarter of 2027

** As of the previous trading day’s close, the stock had gained 5.87% year-to-date

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