EMC Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

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

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), EMC beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded and earnings per share expanded significantly.

Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
EMC chalked up revenue of $5.6 billion. The 33 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $5.5 billion. Sales were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $4.9 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.49. The 33 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.46 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.38 for Q4 were 33% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.29 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 63.2%, 250 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.9%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.9%, 200 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $5.1 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.35.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $22.0 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.71.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 3,561 members out of 3,690 rating the stock outperform, and 129 members rating it underperform. Among 789 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 774 give EMC a green thumbs-up, and 15 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on EMC is buy, with an average price target of $29.84.

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At the time thisarticle was published 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 ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool owns shares of EMC. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. 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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