CF Industries Holdings Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

CF Industries Holdings (NYS: CF) reported earnings on Feb. 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), CF Industries Holdings missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue contracted. Non-GAAP earnings per share grew slightly. GAAP earnings per share grew.


Gross margins dropped, operating margins dropped, net margins increased.

Revenue details
 CF Industries Holdings tallied revenue of $1.48 billion. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $1.59 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 14% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.72 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 $7.27. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $6.89 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $7.27 for Q4 were 2.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $7.13 per share. GAAP EPS of $7.40 for Q4 were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $6.65 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 44.3%, 600 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 41.1%, 720 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 31.8%, 630 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.50 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $6.09.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $6.08 billion. The average EPS estimate is $25.93.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,261 members out of 1,307 rating the stock outperform, and 46 members rating it underperform. Among 279 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 271 give CF Industries Holdings 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 CF Industries Holdings is hold, with an average price target of $232.57.

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The article CF Industries Holdings Beats Analyst Estimates 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 owns shares of CF Industries Holdings. 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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