Agilent Technologies
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Oct. 31 (Q4), Agilent Technologies met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded slightly and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.
Gross margins shrank, operating margins contracted, net margins grew.
Revenue details
Agilent Technologies booked revenue of $1.77 billion. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see sales of $1.76 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 2.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.73 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 $0.86. The 17 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.80 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.20 for Q4 were 46% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.82 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 52.2%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.7%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 24.1%, 740 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.
Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.69 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.66.
Next year's average estimate for revenue is $7.12 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.04.
Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 508 members out of 578 rating the stock outperform, and 70 members rating it underperform. Among 120 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 112 give Agilent Technologies a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.
Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Agilent Technologies is buy, with an average price target of $47.70.
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