Illinois Tool Works Inc. ITW has delivered impressive results for the first quarter of 2021. Its earnings surpassed estimates by 11.1, whereas sales beat the same by 3.3%. This was the eleventh consecutive quarter of impressive bottom-line results. The industrial tool maker’s earnings in the reported quarter were $2.11 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.90. Also, the bottom line increased 19.2% from the year-ago reported number of $1.77 on the back of sales generation and operating margin improvement.Revenue DetailsIllinois Tool generated revenues of $3,544 million in the reported quarter, reflecting growth of 9.8% from the year-ago figure. Top-line results benefitted from a 6.1% increase in organic sales and a 3.7% contribution from movements in foreign currencies.Also, the top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,430 million.Illinois Tool reports revenues under the segments discussed below:Test & Measurement and Electronics’ revenues in the first quarter increased 14% year over year to $552 million. Revenues from Automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) grew 12.6% to $783 million. Food Equipment generated revenues of $451 million, decreasing 6.5% year over year.Welding revenues were $401 million, growing 7.5% year over year. Construction Products’ revenues were up 20.2% to $469 million. Further, revenues of $457 million from Specialty Products reflected an increase of 10.4%. Polymers & Fluids’ revenues of $435 million grew 10.7% year over year.Margin ProfileIn the reported quarter, Illinois Tool’s cost of sales increased 9% year over year to $2,039 million. It represented 57.5% of the quarter’s revenues versus 58% in the year-ago quarter. Selling, administrative, and research and development expenses expanded 1.1% year over year to $566 million. It represented 16% of first-quarter revenues versus 17.4% in the year-ago quarter.Operating margin was 25.5% in the quarter, up 190 basis points from the year-ago quarter. Enterprise initiatives contributed 120 bps to operating margin.Interest expenses in the quarter increased 2% year over year to $52 million. Effective tax rate in the quarter was 22.4%.Balance Sheet and Cash FlowExiting the first quarter, Illinois Tool had cash and cash equivalents of $2,484 million, down 3.1% from $2,564 million recorded at the end of the last reported quarter. Long-term debt decreased 2.2% sequentially to $7,599 million.In the first quarter, the company generated net cash of $609 million from operating activities, reflecting a decline of 0.8% from the year-ago quarter. Capital spending on the purchase of plant and equipment was $68 million, up 13.3% year over year. Free cash flow was $541 million, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 2.3%.OutlookFor 2021, Illinois Tool increased its financial projections. It now expects organic revenue growth of 10-12% as compared with an increase of 7-10% mentioned previously. Total revenues are projected to increase 12-14% versus 9-12% mentioned earlier.Foreign currency translation is expected to positively impact sales by 2%.Earnings (GAAP) are expected to be $8.20-$8.60 per share, up from $7.60-$8.00 mentioned previously. The revised projection suggests an increase of 27% (at the mid-point) from the year-ago .quarter.Operating margin is expected to be 25-26% and enterprise initiatives are likely to contribute 100 bps. Free cash is anticipated to be in excess of 100% of net income. In the year, the company intends to buy back $1 billion worth of shares.Illinois Tool Works Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Illinois Tool Works Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Illinois Tool Works Inc. QuoteZacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderWith a market capitalization of $72.8 billion, Illinois Tool currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the industry are Dover Corporation DOV, Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT and Graco Inc. GGG. While Dover currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Applied Industrial and Graco carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.In the past 60 days, earnings estimates for these companies improved for the current year. Further, earnings surprise for the last reported quarter was 23.13% for Dover, 28.95% for Applied Industrial and 16.00% for Graco.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>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 Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT): Free Stock Analysis Report Graco Inc. (GGG): Free Stock Analysis Report Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW): Free Stock Analysis Report Dover Corporation (DOV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research