Deluge Of Q1 Earnings Results: GE, HON, MAN, SWK, STI

Friday, April 21, 2017

To cap off this first week of a major deluge of Q1 earnings this season, we see results from plenty of S&P 500 companies which lead their respective industries. We even hear from a few companies that are Zacks Rank Buy stocks, including ManpowerGroup (NYSE:MAN) , Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) and SunTrust Banks (NYSE:STI) .

Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) conglomerate General Electric (NYSE:GE) beat the Zacks consensus estimate by 4 cents to 21 cents per share, on $27.66 billion in sales that was $1.3 billion higher than the estimate. This is GE’s third earnings beat in the last 4 quarters. Product orders in Q1 rose 10% to $25.7 billion, and the company states its proposed merger with oil & gas services major Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) is reportedly on track. Shares of GE are up marginally at this point in the pre-market.

Honeywell (NYSE:HON) , a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company ahead of its Q1 earnings report, beat the Zacks consensus be 4 cents to $1.66 per share, on $9.49 billion in sales that easily beat the $9.33 billion expected. This swung year-over-year revenue comparisons to the positive following expectations of a -2% drop. After just meeting earnings expectations in Q4 2016, today’s result represents the biggest bottom-line beat for the industrial conglomerate in the past 5 quarters. HON shares are +3.2% in pre-market trading.

ManpowerGroup, a Zacks Rank #2 labor force services supplier, missed the Zacks consensus estimate by 2 cents per share to $1.09 on revenues that beat expectations to $4.8 billion. This represents the first earnings miss in the past 5 quarters for the Milwaukee, WI-based Manpower. The company took restructuring charges that reportedly took 30 cents per share from its Q1 bottom line. MAN shares are trading down 1.2% prior to Friday’s opening bell.

Fellow Zacks Rank #2 stock Stanley Black & Decker also beat earnings estimates for its Q1: $1.29 per share bested the Zacks consensus by a full dime, whereas its $2.81 billion in quarterly revenues. Its 8.4% positive surprise on the bottom line is above the trailing four quarter average of +6% EPS surprise, in which SWK beat each quarter. The company also raised Q2 guidance by a dime to a range of $7.08-7.28 per share. Shares are up 2.8% in pre-market trading.

SunTrust Banks topped estimates on the bottom line by 3 cents to 87 cents per share, while narrowly beating top-line expectations to $2.21 billion in Q1 revenues. It’s the fifth straight quarter the Atlanta, GA-based financial services firm has beaten earnings estimates, albeit by single digits. Pre-market activity is bringing STI shares up 1.8% this morning.

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

Questions or comments about this article and/or its author? Click here>>