EMC Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Just the facts, Fool.

EMC (NYSE: EMC) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), EMC met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew. Non-GAAP earnings per share grew. GAAP earnings per share contracted.

Gross margins expanded, operating margins shrank, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
EMC notched revenue of $5.39 billion. The 36 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $5.42 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $5.09 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 $0.39. The 39 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.40 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.39 for Q1 were 5.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.37 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.26 for Q1 were 3.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.27 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 61.2%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.9%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.8%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $5.67 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.43.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $23.47 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.86.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 3,719 members out of 3,855 rating the stock outperform, and 136 members rating it underperform. Among 687 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 670 give EMC a green thumbs-up, and 17 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on EMC is outperform, with an average price target of $29.35.

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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 owns shares of EMC. 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.