Kimberly-Clark Beats on Revenue, Matches Expectations on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Kimberly-Clark (NYS: KMB) reported earnings on Jan. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 Kimberly-Clark booked revenue of $5.31 billion. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $5.19 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 2.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $5.18 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 $1.37. The 15 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $1.35 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.68 for Q4 were 33% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.01 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 28.7%, 390 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.5%, 580 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.0%, 270 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $5.22 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.32.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $21.18 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.58.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,010 members out of 1,064 rating the stock outperform, and 54 members rating it underperform. Among 360 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 349 give Kimberly-Clark a green thumbs-up, and 11 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Kimberly-Clark is hold, with an average price target of $87.75.

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The article Kimberly-Clark Beats on Revenue, Matches Expectations on EPS 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 recommends Kimberly-Clark. 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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