ABB's Latest EPS Tops Last Year's by 20% (ABB)

ABB's Latest EPS Tops Last Year's by 20%

ABB (NYSE: ABB ) reported earnings on Feb. 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), ABB beat expectations on revenues and whiffed on earnings per share.

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

Gross margin dropped, operating margin dropped, and net margin improved.

Revenue details
ABB chalked up revenue of $10.57 billion. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $10.32 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $9.18 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.36. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.43 per share. The GAAP EPS of $0.36 for Q4 was 16% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.31 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 28.3%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.9%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.9%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $8.85 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.32.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $39.95 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.56.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,753 members out of 1,798 rating the stock outperform, and 45 members rating it underperform. Among 372 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 366 give ABB a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on ABB is outperform, with an average price target of $24.62.

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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. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of ABB. 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.

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