Leucadia National Beats on the Top Line

Leucadia National (NYSE: LUK  ) reported earnings on Feb. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Leucadia National chalked up revenue of $2.51 billion. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated a top line of $2.19 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $277.3 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 $1.83. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.52 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.83 for Q4 were 273% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.49 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.02 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

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 23.9%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.4%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 18.1%, much worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.94 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.51.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $12.13 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.22.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,348 members out of 1,382 rating the stock outperform, and 34 members rating it underperform. Among 420 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 413 give Leucadia National 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 Leucadia National is hold, with an average price target of $23.00.

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