Williams Companies Misses on Revenues but Beats on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Williams Companies (NYS: WMB) reported earnings on April 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Williams Companies logged revenue of $2.02 billion. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $2.07 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 22% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.58 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
EPS came in at $0.39. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.36 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.70 for Q1 were 30% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.54 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 33.2%, 730 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 26.9%, 830 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 21.0%, 850 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.11 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.35.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $8.45 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.47.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 522 members out of 543 rating the stock outperform, and 21 members rating it underperform. Among 129 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 124 give Williams Companies a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Williams Companies is outperform, with an average price target of $33.32.

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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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