Laboratory Corporation of America Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Laboratory Corporation of America (NYS: LH) reported earnings on April 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), LabCorp beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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


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

Revenue details
LabCorp recorded revenue of $1.42 billion. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $1.40 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.37 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 $1.61. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $1.55 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $1.63 for Q1 were 33% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.23 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 40.5%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.9%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.4%, 210 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.44 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.67.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.72 billion. The average EPS estimate is $6.49.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 682 members out of 702 rating the stock outperform, and 20 members rating it underperform. Among 217 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 215 give LabCorp a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on LabCorp is hold, with an average price target of $96.17.

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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. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of LabCorp. 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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