Rent-A-Center Beats Estimates Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Rent-A-Center (NAS: RCII) reported earnings on Jan. 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

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

Revenue details
Rent-A-Center logged revenue of $737.5 million. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $743.3 million. Sales were 8.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $677.1 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.85. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.82 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.83 for Q4 were 71% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.49 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 70.1%, 5,330 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.3%, 80 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.7%, 200 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $813.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.88.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.14 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.22.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 110 members out of 130 rating the stock outperform, and 20 members rating it underperform. Among 46 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 43 give Rent-A-Center a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Rent-A-Center is outperform, with an average price target of $43.29.

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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. 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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