Lincoln Electric Holdings Misses on Revenues but Beats on EPS (LECO)

Lincoln Electric Holdings Misses on Revenues but Beats on EPS

Lincoln Electric Holdings (Nasdaq: LECO ) reported earnings on Oct. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Lincoln Electric Holdings missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Lincoln Electric Holdings notched revenue of $697.6 million. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $719.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 0.6% lower than the prior-year quarter's $701.6 million.

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 $0.80. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.74 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.77 for Q3 were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.66 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 30.6%, 420 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.2%, 250 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.3%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $726.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.76.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.92 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.07.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 363 members out of 371 rating the stock outperform, and eight members rating it underperform. Among 128 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 127 give Lincoln Electric Holdings a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Lincoln Electric Holdings is outperform, with an average price target of $52.67.

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