Altria Group Beats on Revenue, Matches Expectations on EPS (MO)

Altria Group Beats on Revenue, Matches Expectations on EPS

Altria Group (NYSE: MO ) reported earnings on Oct. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Altria Group beat expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins dropped, operating margins grew, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Altria Group reported revenue of $4.47 billion. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $4.36 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $4.33 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 $0.58. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.58 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.32 for Q3 were 44% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.57 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 55.6%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 44.3%, 90 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.7%, 1,240 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.36 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.54.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $17.37 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.20.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 8,650 members out of 8,974 rating the stock outperform, and 324 members rating it underperform. Among 2,230 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 2,191 give Altria Group a green thumbs-up, and 39 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Altria Group is outperform, with an average price target of $35.38.

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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. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. 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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