Mead Johnson Nutrition Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Mead Johnson Nutrition (NYSE: MJN  ) reported earnings on Jan. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins were steady, operating margins were steady, net margins increased.

Revenue details
Mead Johnson Nutrition recorded revenue of $981.1 million. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see sales of $954.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 7.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $911.3 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 $0.72. The 15 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.68 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.66 for Q4 were 61% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.41 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 61.1%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.3%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 13.7%, 430 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.04 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.88.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.16 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.33.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 80 members out of 96 rating the stock outperform, and 16 members rating it underperform. Among 33 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 26 give Mead Johnson Nutrition 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 Mead Johnson Nutrition is outperform, with an average price target of $72.07.

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