United Technologies Crushes Earnings Estimates

Updated

United Technologies (NYS: UTX) reported earnings on Jan. 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), United Technologies met expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins contracted, operating margins contracted, net margins expanded.

Revenue details
United Technologies reported revenue of $16.44 billion. The 16 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $16.58 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $14.97 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 $1.29. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.03 per share. GAAP EPS of $2.26 for Q4 were 54% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.47 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 25.3%, 260 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.0%, 330 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 12.5%, 360 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $15.01 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.29.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $65.03 billion. The average EPS estimate is $6.05.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,551 members out of 1,611 rating the stock outperform, and 60 members rating it underperform. Among 444 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 435 give United Technologies a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on United Technologies is outperform, with an average price target of $91.55.

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The article United Technologies Crushes Earnings Estimates originally appeared on Fool.com.

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. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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