Fresh Market Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Fresh Market (NAS: TFM) reported earnings on May 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 29 (Q1), Fresh Market beat expectations on revenues and earnings per share.

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


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Fresh Market notched revenue of $324.8 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for a top line of $310.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 23% higher than the prior-year quarter's $264.5 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 $0.40. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.36 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.40 for Q1 were 43% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.28 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 34.7%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.7%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.9%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $303.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.27.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.31 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.34.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 104 members out of 120 rating the stock outperform, and 16 members rating it underperform. Among 38 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 30 give Fresh Market a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Fresh Market is outperform, with an average price target of $51.00.

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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. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of The Fresh Market. 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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