Clorox Misses on Both Revenue and Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Clorox (NYS: CLX) reported earnings on May 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q3), Clorox missed slightly on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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


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

Revenue details
 Clorox tallied revenue of $1.41 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $1.44 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 $1.00. The 17 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.05 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.00 for Q3 were 2.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.02 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.02 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.) GAAP EPS of $0.99 for Q3 were 1.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.00 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.02 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

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 42.1%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.5%, 40 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.4%, much about the same as the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.59 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.35.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.69 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.33.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 853 members out of 891 rating the stock outperform, and 38 members rating it underperform. Among 309 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 305 give Clorox a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Clorox is hold, with an average price target of $80.50.

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The article Clorox Misses on Both Revenue and Earnings 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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