PharMerica Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

PharMerica (NYS: PMC) reported earnings on Feb. 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
PharMerica recorded revenue of $495.6 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $501.6 million. GAAP sales were 0.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $491.5 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.35. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.21 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.26 for Q4 were 63% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.16 per share.

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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 15.8%, 270 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.0%, 180 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.6%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $509.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.27.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.00 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.12.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 126 members rating the stock outperform and six members rating it underperform. Among 25 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 24 give PharMerica a green thumbs-up, and one gives it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on PharMerica is hold, with an average price target of $15.71.

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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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