Mead Johnson Nutrition Beats Estimates Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Mead Johnson Nutrition (NYS: MJN) reported earnings on Jan. 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and earnings per share shrank.

Gross margins shrank, operating margins improved, and net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Mead Johnson Nutrition logged revenue of $911.3 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $894.0 million. Sales were 13% higher than the prior-year quarter's $803.7 million.

anImage
anImage

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.52. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.51 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.42 for Q4 were 12% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.48 per share.

anImage
anImage

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 61.1%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.0%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.4%, 300 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $981.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.82.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.01 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.17.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 78 members out of 92 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 32 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 25 give Mead Johnson Nutrition a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Mead Johnson Nutrition is outperform, with an average price target of $77.33.

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. 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.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement