Southern Whiffs on Revenues

Updated

Southern (NYS: SO) reported earnings on April 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Southern whiffed on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank and GAAP earnings per share contracted.


Gross margins grew, operating margins were steady, and net margins contracted.

Revenue details
Southern tallied revenue of $3.60 billion. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $4.03 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $4.01 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 $0.42. The 15 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.45 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.43 for Q1 were 12% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.49 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 39.7%, 250 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 21.3%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.2%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.83 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.74.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $18.63 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.67.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,019 members out of 1,073 rating the stock outperform, and 54 members rating it underperform. Among 275 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 269 give Southern a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Southern is hold, with an average price target of $44.88.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson owned shares of the following at the time of publication: Southern. 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 Southern. 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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