Golf Clap for Western Union

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Western Union (NYS: WU) reported earnings on Feb. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Western Union booked revenue of $1.43 billion. The 24 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $1.44 billion. Sales were 5.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.36 billion.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.40. The 27 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.40 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.73 for Q4 were 97% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.37 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 44.6%, 230 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 25.0%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 31.6%, 1,370 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,456 members rating the stock outperform and 44 members rating it underperform. Among 446 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 436 give Western Union a green thumbs-up, and 10 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average price target is $22.77.

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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 and creating a write covered straddle position in Western Union. 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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