Sysco Beats Estimates on Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Sysco (NYS: SYY) reported earnings on Feb. 6. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q2), Sysco beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Sysco reported revenue of $10.24 billion. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $10.06 billion. Sales were 9.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $9.38 billion.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.46. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.45 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.43 for Q2 were 2.3% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.44 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 18%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.2%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.4%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $10.38 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.47.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $41.90 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.02.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,278 members out of 1,325 rating the stock outperform, and 47 members rating it underperform. Among 451 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 448 give Sysco 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 Sysco is hold, with an average price target of $30.

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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. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Sysco. 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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