Four S&P 500 names beat on EPS this week; CCL warns of guidance impact after Baltimore bridge collapse – Earnings Scorecard
As the Good Friday week wraps up, here is a recap of the big names that reported earnings. On Wednesday, cruise line operator Carnival (CCL) posted good results, but its shares surrendered knee-jerk gains and were in the red when the company said its full-year guidance did not reflect the impact of the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The company said given the timing of the Baltimore bridge collapse and the temporary change in the homeport of Baltimore-based cruises, its 2024 guidance does not include the current estimated impact of up to $10 million on both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income for FY24.
CCL guided 2024 adjusted EBITDA at $5.63B and adjusted net income at $1.28B.
On Thursday before the bell, Walgreens (WBA) beat on the top and bottom lines but trimmed its 2024 outlook.
WBA sees FY24 EPS of $3.20 to $3.35 vs. $3.24 consensus and the prior range of $3.20 to $3.50. The tighter EPS guidance range was said to reflect a challenging retail environment in the U.S., the early wind-down of the sale-leaseback program, and lower overall earnings due to Cencora share sales.
Looking forward, WBA said it remains confident in its goal of achieving $1 billion in cost savings this year. The company also noted that it is continuing to strategically review its portfolio.
For the week ending March 28, four S&P 500 companies reported results, of which all of them reported EPS and revenue beats. McCormick (MKC), Cintas (CTAS), Carnival (CCL), and Walgreens (WBA) all posted results that exceeded analyst expectations.
Of the 499 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date, 73.3% reported EPS above analyst expectations, while 22.4% missed consensus. 66.1% reported a revenue beat, while 33.1% reported a top-line miss.
For the upcoming week, three S&P 500 names are scheduled to report results, with names like Paychex (PAYX) expected on Tuesday and Conagra Brands (CAG) expected on Thursday. PAYX has a record of eight EPS beats over the last eight quarters, while WBA has beaten EPS six times over the same period.