AFLAC Increases Sales but Misses Revenue Estimate

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

AFLAC (NYS: AFL) filed its 10-K on Feb. 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew. Non-GAAP earnings per share didn't move. GAAP earnings per share grew.


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

Revenue details
 AFLAC chalked up revenue of $6.38 billion. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $6.51 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 $1.48. The 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $1.48 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.48 were the same as the prior-year quarter. GAAP EPS of $1.24 for Q4 were 8.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.14 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 25.7%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 14.3%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.2%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $6.12 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.63.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $25.05 billion. The average EPS estimate is $6.42.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,939 members out of 2,022 rating the stock outperform, and 83 members rating it underperform. Among 578 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 561 give AFLAC a green thumbs-up, and 17 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on AFLAC is outperform, with an average price target of $58.00.

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The article AFLAC Increases Sales but Misses Revenue Estimate 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 Aflac. 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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