Jones Lang LaSalle Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYS: JLL) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Jones Lang LaSalle met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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


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

Revenue details
 Jones Lang LaSalle reported revenue of $856.0 million. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated a top line of $848.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $813.3 million.

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 $0.36. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.23 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.36 for Q1 were 28% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.50 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.29 for Q1 were 6.5% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.31 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 100.0%, much better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.7%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.5%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $981.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.42.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.15 billion. The average EPS estimate is $6.28.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 694 members out of 727 rating the stock outperform, and 33 members rating it underperform. Among 266 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 260 give Jones Lang LaSalle a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Jones Lang LaSalle is outperform, with an average price target of $98.86.

The article Jones Lang LaSalle Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson owned shares of the following at the time of publication: Jones Lang LaSalle. 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 Jones Lang LaSalle. The Motley Fool owns shares of Jones Lang LaSalle. 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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