Whirlpool Crushes Earnings Estimates

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Whirlpool (NYS: WHR) reported earnings on April 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


Gross margins improved, operating margins grew, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Whirlpool booked revenue of $4.35 billion. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw revenue of $4.37 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.2% lower than the prior-year quarter's $4.40 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 $1.41. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.12 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $1.17 for Q1 were 46% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.17 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 15.0%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.5%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.1%, 170 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.70 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.53.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $18.76 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.92.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 357 members out of 440 rating the stock outperform, and 83 members rating it underperform. Among 108 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 99 give Whirlpool a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Whirlpool is hold, with an average price target of $72.75.

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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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