Director Sold Trimble at $65. Stock Now $53 After EPS Miss
Trimble director Kaigham Gabriel sold 2,476 shares at $65 on October 29, six days before the company's first earnings miss in four quarters. The stock is now at $53, but the company's 71.5% gross marg
Trimble Director Sold at $65. Stock Now at $53.
NEW YORK, November 5 —
Six days before Trimble Inc. (TRMB) ended a four-quarter adjusted EPS beat streak with a fractional miss, director Kaigham Gabriel sold 2,476 shares at $65.00, collecting $160,940 in proceeds before the stock fell to $53.39. Whether the timing was prescient or coincidental, the gap is now $11.61 and difficult to ignore.
- Q3 2026 adjusted EPS: $0.86 vs. consensus, first miss after four consecutive beats [8-K]
- Gabriel's October 29 exit price of $65.00 sits $5.00 above Wells Fargo's post-earnings target of $60
- Trailing free cash flow: $697 million; debt: $1.53 billion against $210 million in cash
The Exit That Priced Trimble Higher Than Any Analyst Does Now
Gabriel's open-market sale at $65.00 on October 29 preceded the Q3 earnings 8-K by six days. The stock's post-earnings level of $53.39 means his exit captured value that neither the market nor any covering analyst currently assigns to Trimble. Wells Fargo, which lowered its price target to $60 from $61 on November 5, now prices the stock below Gabriel's sale level, making a bullish analyst's best case worth less than a director's recent exit. The 90-day insider record shows zero open-market purchases against $160,940 in sales, a one-sided ledger heading into a report that snapped a winning streak.
Four Beats, Then a Stumble, and a Filing the Day Before
Trimble, which sells BIM software, virtual design and construction tools, and machine-control guidance systems for excavators and bulldozers, had built a reliable pattern: adjusted EPS beats of 4.2%, 9.7%, and 7.5% across the three prior quarters. The Q3 miss at -0.1% is numerically trivial but sequentially notable, the streak ends precisely when the stock carries a 48% gap between its $53.39 price and the broader analyst consensus target of $74.36. On November 3, one day before the earnings release, Trimble filed an 8-K disclosing a director or officer departure or appointment, and on October 2 it disclosed new financing activity, a sequence of corporate actions clustering around the quarter's close.
| Ticker | Mkt cap | Fwd P/E | 52-wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRMB | $12.4B | 12.9x | -31.2% |
| TDY | $27.6B | 21.5x | +24.7% |
| PTC | $21.2B | 19.8x | +12.2% |
| ZBRA | $15.5B | 14.7x | +28.7% |
| TYL | $17.0B | 27.4x | -9.0% |
| TER | $34.2B | 18.2x | +35.7% |
What to Watch at the Next Checkpoint
Trimble's trailing twelve-month revenue of $3.85 billion, 71.5% gross margin, and $697 million in free cash flow reflect a business that has successfully shifted toward software and subscription revenue. The forward P/E of 12.9x on adjusted estimates looks modest against that margin profile, but a trailing GAAP EPS of -$0.68 signals non-cash charges the adjusted figure obscures, and $1.53 billion in debt against $210 million in cash limits balance-sheet flexibility. The specific number to watch next quarter: whether adjusted EPS resumes its beat pattern above $0.86, or whether the Q3 stumble marks a trend. Run the free Trimble Inc. deep-dive →
Current fundamentals, valuation and filing history for Trimble Inc. (TRMB) are tracked on its Basis Report page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When did Trimble report its first earnings miss?
Trimble reported Q3 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.86 versus $0.86144 consensus on November 5, marking the company's first miss after four consecutive quarters of beats. The stock fell to $53.39 following the announcement.
Did director Kaigham Gabriel sell shares before the earnings miss?
Yes. Gabriel sold 2,476 shares at $65.00 on October 29, six days before the Q3 earnings announcement. The stock's subsequent decline to $53.39 means his exit price captured $11.61 per share more than the current level.
What is Trimble's business model?
Trimble sells BIM software, virtual design and construction tools, and machine-control guidance systems for excavators and bulldozers. The company has successfully shifted toward software and subscription revenue.
What are Trimble's key financial metrics?
Trimble maintains trailing twelve-month free cash flow of $697 million, a 71.5% gross margin, debt of $1.53 billion, and cash of $210 million. The forward P/E is 12.9x on adjusted estimates.
What is the analyst consensus on Trimble stock?
Wells Fargo lowered its price target to $60 from $61 on November 5, below director Gabriel's recent exit price of $65. The broader analyst consensus target is $74.36.
Trimble reported Q3 2026 results that came in just below consensus — ending four consecutive adjusted EPS beats — and the stock fell to $53.39. Six days before the report, a company director had sold shares at $65.00.