Sears Holdings Beats on Revenue, Matches Expectations on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Sears Holdings (NAS: SHLD) reported earnings on Feb. 28. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Feb. 2 (Q4), Sears Holdings beat expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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


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

Revenue details
 Sears Holdings notched revenue of $12.26 billion. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $11.90 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 $1.12. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $1.12 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.12 for Q4 were 107% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.54 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.16 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.) GAAP EPS were -$4.61 for Q4 against -$22.63 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 25.8%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -2.6%, 360 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -4.0%, much better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.65.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $36.48 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$2.31.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,485 members out of 2,329 rating the stock outperform, and 844 members rating it underperform. Among 556 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 336 give Sears Holdings a green thumbs-up, and 220 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Sears Holdings is hold, with an average price target of $28.33.

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The article Sears Holdings 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 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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