Global Partners Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Global Partners (NYS: GLP) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins dropped, operating margins were steady, and net margins were steady.

Revenue details
Global Partners recorded revenue of $4.11 billion. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $3.43 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 49% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.76 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 $0.47. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.43 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.45 for Q4 were 41% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.32 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 1.4%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.4%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.2%, about the same as the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.07 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.50.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $15.55 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.46.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 136 members rating the stock outperform and eight members rating it underperform. Among 31 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 30 give Global Partners 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 Global Partners is hold, with an average price target of $23.33.

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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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