Edwards Lifesciences Misses on Revenue but Beats on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Edwards Lifesciences (NYS: EW) reported earnings on Feb. 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Edwards Lifesciences missed estimates on revenue and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
Edwards Lifesciences recorded revenue of $430.2 million. The 22 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw net sales of $447.4 million. Sales were 9.6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $392.4 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.62. The 26 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.59 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.53 for Q4 were 1.9% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.54 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 72.2%, 110 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.1%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.7%, 180 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $464.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.55.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.01 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.77.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 149 members out of 203 rating the stock outperform, and 54 members rating it underperform. Among 71 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 47 give Edwards Lifesciences a green thumbs-up, and 24 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Edwards Lifesciences is outperform, with an average price target of $80.17.

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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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