Walgreen Beats on EPS But GAAP Results Lag

Updated

Walgreen (NYS: WAG) reported earnings on Sep. 28. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Aug. 31 (Q4), Walgreen met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins grew, operating margins shrank, net margins contracted.

Revenue details
Walgreen logged revenue of $17.08 billion. The 18 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated a top line of $17.17 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $17.97 billion.

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 $0.63. The 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.56 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.39 for Q4 were 55% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.87 per share.

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 28.3%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 3.4%, 170 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.1%, 230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $17.73 billion.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $74.31 billion.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,099 members out of 2,246 rating the stock outperform, and 147 members rating it underperform. Among 538 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 506 give Walgreen a green thumbs-up, and 32 give it a red thumbs-down.

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The article Walgreen Beats on EPS But GAAP Results Lag originally appeared on Fool.com.

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