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Altria Group Earnings Up Next

By Seth Jayson – Updated Apr 10, 2017 at 6:47AM

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Checking expectations

Altria Group (NYSE: MO) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 23. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Altria Group's revenues will increase 1.0% and EPS will increase 6.8%.

The average estimate for revenue is $4.62 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.63.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Altria Group reported revenue of $3.97 billion. GAAP reported sales were 0.5% lower than the prior-year quarter's $3.99 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.54. GAAP EPS of $0.69 for Q1 were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.59 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 67.3%, much better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 54.3%, much better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 34.9%, 500 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $17.60 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.40.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 8,648 members out of 8,974 rating the stock outperform, and 326 members rating it underperform. Among 2,087 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 2,050 give Altria Group a green thumbs-up, and 37 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 $35.92.

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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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