AFLAC Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

AFLAC (NYS: AFL) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


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

Revenue details
AFLAC reported revenue of $6.24 billion. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for sales of $6.20 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 21% higher than the prior-year quarter's $5.15 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 $1.74. The earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $1.65 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $1.68 for Q1 were 102% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.83 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 19.3%, 450 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.3%, 610 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 12.6%, 490 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $6.11 billion.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $24.79 billion.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,852 members out of 1,928 rating the stock outperform, and 76 members rating it underperform. Among 516 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 500 give AFLAC a green thumbs-up, and 16 give it a red thumbs-down.

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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 AFLAC. 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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