Eli Lilly Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY  ) reported earnings on Jan. 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Eli Lilly beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

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

Revenue details
Eli Lilly logged revenue of $5.96 billion. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see net sales of $5.82 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.5% lower than the prior-year quarter's $6.05 billion.

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 $0.85. The 17 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.79 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.74 for Q4 were 3.9% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.77 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 79.0%, 90 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 17.9%, 250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 13.9%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $5.66 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.98.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $22.91 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.83.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,259 members out of 1,355 rating the stock outperform, and 96 members rating it underperform. Among 435 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 411 give Eli Lilly a green thumbs-up, and 24 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Eli Lilly is hold, with an average price target of $51.97.

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