Monsanto Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Monsanto (NYS: MON) reported earnings on June 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended May 31 (Q3), Monsanto missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 Monsanto booked revenue of $4.25 billion. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $4.41 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 $1.66. The 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.61 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.66 for Q3 were 1.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.63 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.68 for Q3 were 3.4% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.74 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 53.2%, 280 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 29.1%, 290 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 21.4%, 80 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.23 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.39.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $14.91 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.61.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,824 members out of 2,971 rating the stock outperform, and 147 members rating it underperform. Among 537 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 508 give Monsanto a green thumbs-up, and 29 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Monsanto is outperform, with an average price target of $114.08.

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The article Monsanto 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 recommends the following options: Long Jan 2015 $70 Calls on Monsanto and Long Jan 2015 $70 Puts on Monsanto. 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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