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Graco Crushes Earnings Estimates

By Seth Jayson – Updated Apr 10, 2017 at 7:41AM

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Just the facts, Fool.

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

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 29 (Q1), Graco met expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
Graco booked revenue of $269.0 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $272.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $234.1 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 $0.88. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.73 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.88 for Q1 were 52% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.58 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.84 for Q1 were 45% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.58 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 56.0%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 26.6%, 180 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 19.4%, 430 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $283.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.78.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.11 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.97.

Investor sentiment

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Graco is hold, with an average price target of $58.13.

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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 position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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