Lumber Liquidators Holdings' Earnings Beat Last Year's by 43%

Lumber Liquidators Holdings (NYSE: LL  ) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Lumber Liquidators Holdings beat slightly on revenues and whiffed on earnings per share.

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

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Lumber Liquidators Holdings tallied revenue of $174.5 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $171.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $153.2 million.

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 $0.30. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.35 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.30 for Q4 were 43% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.21 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 35.5%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.7%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.8%, 90 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $177.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.25.

Next year's a! verage e stimate for revenue is $750.9 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.19.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 580 members out of 603 rating the stock outperform, and 24 members rating it underperform. Among 188 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 184 give Lumber Liquidators Holdings 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 Lumber Liquidators Holdings is outperform, with an average price target of $20.67.

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