Agilent Technologies Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A  ) reported earnings on Feb. 14. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Jan. 31 (Q1), Agilent Technologies met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Agilent Technologies reported revenue of $1.68 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $1.69 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 $0.63. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.67 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.51 for Q1 were 22% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.65 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 52.4%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.9%, 370 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.7%, 340 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.79 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.74.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $7.12 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.05.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 511 members out of 581 rating the stock outperform, and 70 members rating it underperform. Among 141 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 134 give Agilent Technologies a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Agilent Technologies is buy, with an average price target of $48.77.

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