Panera Bread Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS (PNRA)

Panera Bread Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA ) reported earnings on Feb. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 27 (Q4), Panera Bread met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved significantly and GAAP earnings per share improved.

Gross margins improved, operating margins dropped, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Panera Bread reported revenue of $495.8 million. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $499.0 million. Sales were 16% higher than the prior-year quarter's $428.2 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.42. The 23 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $1.41 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $1.31 for Q4 were 8.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.21 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 42.0%, 530 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.6%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.8%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $489.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.29.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.07 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.53.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,240 members out of 1,381 rating the stock outperform, and 142 members rating it underperform. Among 489 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 460 give Panera Bread a green thumbs-up, and 29 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Panera Bread is outperform, with an average price target of $145.22.

Add Panera Bread to My Watchlist.

The Steve Jobs Betrayal
You may already know that in the final year of his life, Jobs revealed a stunning betrayal — and told his biographer, "I will spend my last dying breath... and every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong." What was it that made Jobs so irate — and why could it make a few in-the-know investors some major profits over the coming months and years?

Enter your email address below to find out what made Jobs so enraged!

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Panera Bread. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Panera Bread. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.