BCE Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

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

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

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


Gross margins expanded, operating margins were steady, net margins increased.

Revenue details
 BCE booked revenue of $5.18 billion. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see sales of $5.19 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.65. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.66 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.91 for Q4 were 49% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.61 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 37.3%, 90 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.5%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.4%, 450 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.95 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.82.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $20.19 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.20.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 238 members out of 261 rating the stock outperform, and 23 members rating it underperform. Among 74 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 68 give BCE a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on BCE is hold, with an average price target of $44.01.

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The article BCE Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings originally appeared on Fool.com.

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 has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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