AES Outruns Estimates Again

AES (NYSE: AES  ) reported earnings on Feb. 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

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

Revenue details
AES reported revenue of $4.64 billion. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw revenue of $3.86 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $4.16 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 $0.32. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.31 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.32 for Q4 were 39% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.23 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.49 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.) GAAP EPS were $0.24 for Q4 against -$0.27 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 18.3%, 890 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.6%, 800 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.8%, 880 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $5.23 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.35.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $18.54 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.28.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 503 members out of 535 rating the stock outperform, and 32 members rating it underperform. Among 120 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 116 give AES 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 AES is outperform, with an average price target of $13.06.

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