Copa Holdings Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Copa Holdings (NYS: CPA) reported earnings on May 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Copa Holdings beat expectations on both revenue and earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly, while GAAP earnings per share grew slightly.


Gross margin grew, operating margin contracted, and net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Copa Holdings chalked up revenue of $543.3 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for a top line of $527.2 million on the same basis. GAAP-reported sales were 28% higher than the prior-year quarter's $423.1 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 $2.04. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.98 per share. GAAP EPS of $2.16 for Q1 were 0.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.14 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 42.2%, 640 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.5%, 340 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 17.7%, 460 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $501.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.40.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.18 billion. The average EPS estimate is $7.57.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 150 members rating the stock outperform and 23 members rating it underperform. Among 36 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 32 give Copa Holdings 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 Copa Holdings is outperform, with an average price target of $85.66.

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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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