Watson Pharmaceuticals Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Updated

Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYS: WPI) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Watson Pharmaceuticals notched revenue of $1.52 billion. The 17 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $1.47 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 74% higher than the prior-year quarter's $876.5 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 $1.64. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $1.60 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.43 for Q1 were 19% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.36 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 40.7%, 770 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.7%, 740 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.6%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.35 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.38.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.47 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.77.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 179 members out of 201 rating the stock outperform, and 22 members rating it underperform. Among 70 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 65 give Watson Pharmaceuticals 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 Watson Pharmaceuticals is outperform, with an average price target of $69.23.

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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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