Panera Bread Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Panera Bread (NAS: PNRA) reported earnings on Feb. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 27 (Q4), Panera Bread met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
Panera Bread reported revenue of $495.8 million. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $499.0 million. Sales were 16% higher than the prior-year quarter's $428.2 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.42. The 23 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $1.41 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $1.31 for Q4 were 8.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.21 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 42.0%, 530 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.6%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.8%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $489.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.29.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.07 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.53.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,240 members out of 1,381 rating the stock outperform, and 142 members rating it underperform. Among 489 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 460 give Panera Bread a green thumbs-up, and 29 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Panera Bread is outperform, with an average price target of $145.22.

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. The Motley Fool owns shares of Panera Bread. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Panera Bread. 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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