Western Union Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Western Union (NYS: WU) reported earnings on Feb. 12. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Western Union chalked up revenue of $1.42 billion. The 24 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw revenue of $1.40 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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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 $0.42. The 24 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.35 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.40 for Q4 were 45% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.73 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 42.6%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.1%, 490 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 16.7%, 1,490 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.35 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.34.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.55 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.48.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,583 members out of 1,634 rating the stock outperform, and 51 members rating it underperform. Among 469 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 455 give Western Union a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Western Union is hold, with an average price target of $15.48.

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The article Western Union Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines 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 Western Union. 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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