Noble Energy Outruns Estimates Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Noble Energy (NYS: NBL) reported earnings on April 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared with the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Noble Energy logged revenue of $1.17 billion. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $1.09 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 37% higher than the prior-year quarter's $851.0 million.

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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 $1.75. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $1.40 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.47 for Q1 were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.08 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 84.6%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 43.0%, 4,150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 22.6%, 2,100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.10 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.38.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.73 billion. The average EPS estimate is $6.38.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 387 members out of 402 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 99 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 95 give Noble Energy a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Noble Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $119.68.

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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. He is the 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 don't 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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