Equifax (EFX) To Report Q1 Earnings: What's In The Cards?

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2019 results on May 10, before market open.

So far this year, shares of Equifax have gained 30.2% compared with 27.2% rise of the industry it belongs to and 16.5% increase of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

Let's check out how things are shaping up for the announcement.

Top Line to Decline Year Over Year

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2019 revenues stands at $847.70 million, indicating a decline of 2.1% from the year-ago period reported figure. The downside is likely to result from weakness across the mortgage market and unfavorable impact of foreign currency movement. The consensus estimate lies within the company guided range of $840-$855 million.

Segment-wise, the consensus mark for U.S. Information Solutions (USIS) segment revenues is pegged at $296 million, indicating decline of 3.6% from the year-ago reported figure. Weakness across the U.S. mortgage market is expected to hurt results.

The consensus estimate for International segment revenues is pegged at $233 million, indicating a decline of 4.9% from the year-ago reported figure. The expected downfall is likely to come from weak consumer and commercial lending markets in Australia and weak economic conditions in Argentina.

The consensus mark for Global Consumer Solutions segment revenues is pegged at $92 million, indicating decline of 10.7% from the year-ago reported figure. The downside could be due to declining revenues across the company’s U.S. consumer direct business.

The consensus estimate for Workforce Solutions segment revenues is pegged at $42.43 million, indicating growth of 8.1% from the year-ago reported figure. Strength across verification services and employer services business should boost the segment revenues.

In fourth-quarter 2018, total revenues of $835.3 million fell slightly year over year.

Bottom Line Projections

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share in the to-be reported quarter is pegged at $1.19, indicating a decline of 16.8% from the year-ago reported figure. The bottom line is expected to be hurt by unfavorable impact of foreign currency movements and higher corporate costs related to security and technology. Notably, the consensus estimate lies within the guided adjusted EPS range of $1.15-$1.20 per share.

In fourth-quarter 2018, adjusted earnings of $1.38 per share decreased 1% year over year.

What Our Model Says

According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP . Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell) stocks are best avoided, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter .

Equifax has a Zacks Rank #4 and an Earnings ESP of +0.08%.

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are a few stocks from the broader Zacks Business Services sector that investors may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat estimates:

WEX (NYSE:WEX) has an Earnings ESP of +0.78% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

FLEETCOR Technologies (NYSE:FLT) has an Earnings ESP of +0.45% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) has an Earnings ESP of +0.30% and a Zacks Rank #2.

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