Avnet AVT recently reported preliminary results for fourth-quarter fiscal 2021, wherein the top and bottom lines are considerably higher than the company’s prior guided ranges as well as surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.Management now projects fourth-quarter revenues to be $5.2 billion, significantly higher than its previous forecast of $4.7-$5.1 billion and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.95 billion. The company’s recently updated top-line projection suggests an increase of 25.7%, year over year, and 6.3%, sequentially.For the fiscal fourth quarter, Avnet now anticipates adjusted earnings in the range of $1.01-$1.05 per share, calling for a jump of 57.8-64.1%, year over year, and 36.5-41.9%, sequentially. The company had earlier predicted adjusted earnings to lie in the 71-77 cents per share band. The consensus mark for the bottom line is currently pegged at 76 cents per share.Additionally, adjusted operating margin is anticipated to be 2.9%, indicating an expansion of 188 basis points (bps) from the year-ago quarter and 66 bps from the previous quarter. Business segment wise, Electronic Components and Farnell operating margins are likely to be 3.1% and 8.3%, respectively.Avnet, Inc. Price and Consensus Avnet, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Avnet, Inc. QuoteAvnet’s chief executive officer Phil Gallagher said, "Strong quarter-over-quarter sales growth in EMEA, Asia and Farnell, and continued operating improvement in the Americas, all contributed to better-than-expected results. Avnet’s role at the center of the technology supply chain is now more vital than ever and our focus on maintaining trusted relationships with our customers and suppliers is driving this robust financial performance."Avnet is benefiting from robust demand for its products in the communication and defense market. The latest forecast for worldwide IT spending by Gartner is a positive for Avnet. The worldwide IT spending is anticipated to be $4.1 trillion in 2021, suggesting an increase of 8.4% from 2020. The research firm forecasts worldwide spending on IT services to be up 9% year over year to $1.11 trillion this year.Its continued focus on boosting Internet Of Things (IoT) capabilities are helping it expand in newer markets and gain customers. On the IoT front, the company has made several partnerships with the likes of AT&T T, as well as acquisitions, such as Dragon Innovation, Premier Farnell and Hackster.io, to enhance its capabilities in this space. Per the company, the aforementioned acquisitions have expanded its reach to more than two million customers as well as an active community of more than 750,000 entrepreneurs, makers and engineers.Furthermore, Avnet has been taking major restructuring steps to streamline its business for the past few years. It intends to focus on high growth businesses only, and divest low profit or loss making businesses. In doing so, the company sold its troubled Technology Solution business to Tech Data Corporation for $2.6 billion during fiscal 2017.The divestment of the Technology Solution division has enabled Avnet to focus on high growth areas, such as marketing electronic components and related products in the supply chain. The company intends to use its resources to make investments in embedded solutions, IoT and critical digital platforms as well as expand footprint in newer markets.Additionally, the firm’s cost-saving efforts are enhancing profitability. Moreover, Avnet’s expanding partner base is boosting top-line growth. Notably, it expects to replace the Texas Instruments TXN revenues with higher-margin revenues by the end of fiscal 2022.Zacks Rank and Another Stock to ConsiderAvnet currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.A similarly-ranked stock in the broader technology sector is Arrow Electronics ARW. The long-term earnings growth rate for the company is currently pegged at 20.1%. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. 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