TE Connectivity Ltd. TEL has reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 adjusted earnings of $1.69 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.4%. The figure rose 46% year over year.Net sales in the reported quarter were $3.818 billion, which beat the consensus mark of $3.811 billion. The figure rose 17% from the year-ago quarter.Top-line growth was driven by well-performing transportation, communications and industrial solutions of the company.However, TE Connectivity witnessed the pandemic-induced supply-chain constraints, which were acting as headwinds.Nevertheless, the company’s strong momentum across hybrid and electric vehicles, data and devices, factory automation, and cloud remains a major positive.TE Connectivity Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise TE Connectivity Ltd. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | TE Connectivity Ltd. QuoteTop-Line DetailsTransportation Solutions: The segment generated $2.2 billion, which accounted for 57.6% of net sales. The figure rose 18% year over year. This can be attributed to the growing proliferation of electric vehicles and strong content trends of electronification, which led to a 14% year-over-year rise in the company’s automotive sales. Commercial transportation sales grew 40% year over year. Sensor sales grew 16% from the year-ago quarter on the back of solid momentum across transportation applications.Industrial Solutions: The segment generated $1.02 billion, which accounted for 26.6% of net sales. The figure rose 6% year over year. This was driven by robust industrial equipment sales, which grew 33% from the prior-year quarter, owing to the growing capital investment in factory automation applications. Solid momentum across renewable applications led to 3% growth in energy sales. Recovery in interventional procedures led to 5% year-over-year growth in the medical category.However, weakness in the commercial aerospace market remained a headwind.Communications Solutions: The segment generated $603 million, which accounted for 15.8% of net sales. Further, the figure rose 38% year over year. This was driven by solid content growth from cloud applications, which led to a year-over-year rise of 37% in data and devices sales. Appliance sales grew 39% from the prior-year quarter, which contributed well.Operating DetailsPer management, the gross profit was $1.3 billion, which was up 30.3% year over year. As a percentage of revenues, the figure expanded 340 basis points (bps) from the year-ago quarter to 33.1%.We note that selling, general and administrative expenses, and research and development expenses of $384 million and $173 million rose 9.1% and 16.9% year over year, respectively.The company’s adjusted operating margin was 18.5% in the reported quarter, which expanded 400 bps year over year.Balance Sheet & Cash FlowAs of Sep 24, 2021, cash and cash equivalents were $1.2 billion, down from $1.4 billion as of Jun 25, 2021.Long-term debt was $3.59 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, down from $3.63 billion in the prior quarter.The company generated $774 million of cash from operations in the reported quarter compared with $682 million in the previous quarter.Further, it generated a free cash flow of $536 million.GuidanceFor first-quarter fiscal 2022, TE Connectivity expects net sales growth of 5% and 4% year over year on a reported basis and an organic basis, respectively, to $3.7 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $3.8 billion. Adjusted earnings are projected to be $1.60 per share, reflecting growth of 9% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark is pegged at $1.64 per share.Zacks Rank and Stocks to ConsiderCurrently, TE Connectivity carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Lam Research LRCX, Coupa Software, Inc. COUP and Trimble Inc. TRMB. All three companies currently carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The long-term earnings growth rates of Lam Research, Coupa Software and Trimble are pegged at 17.01%, 24.28% and 10%, respectively. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $2.4 trillion by 2028 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. Recommendations from previous editions of this report have produced gains of +205%, +258% and +477%. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Lam Research Corporation (LRCX): Free Stock Analysis Report Trimble Inc. (TRMB): Free Stock Analysis Report TE Connectivity Ltd. (TEL): Free Stock Analysis Report Coupa Software, Inc. (COUP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research