Foot Locker Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Foot Locker (NYS: FL) reported earnings on Mar. 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Jan. 28 (Q4), Foot Locker met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins shrank, operating margins increased, and net margins expanded.

Revenue details
Foot Locker notched revenue of $1.50 billion. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for net sales of $1.49 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 7.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.39 billion.

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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 $0.55. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.51 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.53 for Q4 were 47% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.36 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 32.0%, 4,580 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.5%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.4%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.51 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.67.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.87 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.04.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 137 members out of 199 rating the stock outperform, and 62 members rating it underperform. Among 58 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 43 give Foot Locker a green thumbs-up, and 15 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Foot Locker is outperform, with an average price target of $27.31.

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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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