Coca-Cola Bottling Misses Where it Counts

Updated

Coca-Cola Bottling (NAS: COKE) reported earnings on March 6. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Coca-Cola Bottling beat slightly on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins dropped, operating margins contracted, net margins were steady.

Revenue details
Coca-Cola Bottling reported revenue of $386.7 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for a top line of $379.9 million 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 $0.33. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.56 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.33 for Q4 were 35% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.51 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.20 were the same as 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 39.9%, 80 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 3.6%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.5%, much about the same as the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $386.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.81.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.65 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.05.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 591 members out of 633 rating the stock outperform, and 42 members rating it underperform. Among 125 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 118 give Coca-Cola Bottling a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Coca-Cola Bottling is hold, with an average price target of $69.00.

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The article Coca-Cola Bottling Misses Where it Counts 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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