Safeway Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Safeway (NYS: SWY) reported earnings on Feb. 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 29 (Q4), Safeway met expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
Safeway booked revenue of $13.77 billion. The 17 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $13.75 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 $1.07. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.75 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.07 for Q4 were 60% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.67 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.02 for Q4 were 55% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.66 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 26.5%, 380 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 3.3%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.8%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $10.13 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.34.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $44.98 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.11.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 370 members out of 456 rating the stock outperform, and 86 members rating it underperform. Among 129 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 105 give Safeway a green thumbs-up, and 24 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Safeway is hold, with an average price target of $17.78.

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The article Safeway Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again 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. TMFDisclosureHere

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