Fluor Misses on Revenues but Beats on EPS

Fluor (NYSE: FLR  ) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Fluor notched revenue of $6.25 billion. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $6.38 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 19% higher than the prior-year quarter's $5.27 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.90. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.82 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.89 for Q4 were 37% higher 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 5.0%, 310 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.0%, 320 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.4%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $6.24 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.87.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $27.21 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.78.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,280 members out of 1,317 rating the stock outperform, and 37 members rating it underperform. Among 342 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 336 give Fluor a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Fluor is outperform, with an average price target of $71.16.

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