BCE Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

BCE (NYS: BCE) reported earnings on May 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


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

Revenue details
 BCE logged revenue of $4.84 billion. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $4.87 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 $0.76. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.70 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.76 for Q1 were 1.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.75 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.72 for Q1 were 2.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.74 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 39.9%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 22.2%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 12.2%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.98 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.81.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $20.12 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.00.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 240 members out of 263 rating the stock outperform, and 23 members rating it underperform. Among 70 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 65 give BCE a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on BCE is hold, with an average price target of $44.25.

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The article BCE Beats Analyst Estimates 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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