>>> Marsh McLennan beats by $0.10, beats on revs

Marsh McLennan beats by $0.10, beats on revs (73.42)
  • Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.08 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.98; revenues rose 5.0% year/year to $3.5 bln vs the $3.46 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Dan Glaser, President and CEO, said: "We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had underlying revenue growth across all of our operating companies, with growth of 5% in Risk & Insurance Services and 3% in Consulting. We delivered strong operating income growth with solid margin expansion."
  • "With a strong start to the year, we believe the Company is well positioned to deliver underlying revenue growth, margin expansion in both operating segments and strong earnings per share growth in 2017," concluded Mr. Glaser.

>>> American Tower beats by $0.28, beats on revs

American Tower beats by $0.28, beats on revs (122.73)
  • Reports Q1 (Mar) consolidated AFFO of $1.68 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.28 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.40; revenues rose 25.4% year/year to $1.62 bln vs the $1.58 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Co guides to 2017 property revenue of $6.415-6.595 bln, this is not the same as total revenue.

>>> Comcast beats by $0.08, beats on revs (38.79)

Comcast beats by $0.08, beats on revs (38.79)
  • Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.53 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.45; revenues rose 8.9% year/year to $20.46 bln vs the $20.1 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (formerly Operating Cash Flow) increased 10.4% to $7.0 billion.
  • Revenue for Cable Communications increased 5.8% to $12.9 billion in the first quarter of 2017, driven primarily by increases in high-speed Internet, video and business services revenue. High-speed Internet revenue increased 10.1%, driven by an increase in the number of residential high-speed Internet customers and rate adjustments. Video revenue increased 4.3%, reflecting rate adjustments, an increase in the number of customers subscribing to additional services and an increase in the number of residential video customers. Business services revenue increased 13.6%, primarily due to an increase in the number of small business customers, as well as continued growth in our medium-sized business services. Advertising revenue decreased 6.3%, partially reflecting a decrease in political advertising revenue.
  • Total Customer Relationships increased by 297,000 to 28.9 million in the first quarter of 2017. Residential customer relationships increased by 263,000, primarily driven by increases in double and single product customers. Business customer relationships increased by 34,000. At the end of the first quarter, penetration of our double, triple and quad product residential customers increased to 70.7%.
  • Revenue for NBCUniversal increased 14.7% to $7.9 billion in the first quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA increased 24.4% to $2.0 billion, reflecting increases at Filmed Entertainment, Cable Networks, Broadcast Television and Theme Parks. Cable Networks revenue increased 7.6% to $2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2017, reflecting higher distribution and content licensing and other revenue, partially offset by lower advertising revenue.

>>> Johnson Controls beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line; narro

Johnson Controls beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line; narrows FY17 EPS guidance in-line; increases share repurchase program by $500 mln (43.05)
  • Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.50 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.49; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $7.24 bln vs the $7.09 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.70-0.73, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.72 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • Co issues in-line guidance for FY17, narrrows EPS guidance to $2.60-2.68 (prior: $2.60-2.75), excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.64 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • During the quarter, the Company repurchased $119 million of its shares and expanded its full year share repurchase program by $500 million. The Company now expects to complete up to $750 million of share repurchases during fiscal 2017.
  • "Strong second quarter results, ongoing portfolio actions and an increase in our share repurchase program all demonstrate solid progress towards our 2017 priorities and commitments as a newly combined company. Our leading brands, along with our global footprint and strategic customer relationships, uniquely position us as a world leader in buildings and energy solutions and technologies," said Alex Molinaroli, Johnson Controls chairman & CEO. "Another quarter of double-digit EPS growth, accelerating organic sales growth in Buildings and a continued focus on integration, supports our expectations of 13% to 16% EPS growth for the year," Molinaroli continued.

>>> Cooper Tire misses by $0.12, misses on revs; updates on outlook

Cooper Tire misses by $0.12, misses on revs; updates on outlook (43.40)
  • Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.57 per share, $0.12 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.69; revenues fell 1.0% year/year to $643.03 mln vs the $687.92 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Consolidated unit volume increased 2.9 percent compared with a year ago, led by strong growth in the International segment and Latin America.
  • Outlook
    • The first quarter raw material index increased 26.5 percent from the first quarter of 2016, which was in line with the company's expectations. Cooper's internal raw material index increased from 147.0 in the fourth quarter to 166.3 in the first quarter. Raw material costs are volatile and difficult to project, but the company's latest forecast anticipates raw material costs to be up modestly in the second quarter of 2017, and then will stabilize throughout the balance of the year.
      Management expectations for the full year 2017 include:
      • Unit volume growth in all segments except North America. Unit volume in the U.S. is expected to improve relative to the industry for the second quarter and be in line with the industry in the second half of the year.
      • Full year 2017 consolidated operating margin is expected to be at the high end of the company's previously announced mid-term target of 8 to 10 percent. This is based on operating margin around the low end of the range in the first half of the year, but exceeding 10 percent in the second half of the year.
      • The International segment is expected to continue to improve profitability relative to 2016, inclusive of the recently acquired majority interest in Qingdao Ge Rui Da Rubber Company (GRT).
      • The effective tax rate for full year 2017 is expected to be in a range of 30 percent to 33 percent.
      • Capital expenditures are expected to range from $220 million to $250 million for the year.

>>> Intl Paper beats by $0.04, beats on revs (54.07)

ntl Paper beats by $0.04, beats on revs (54.07)
  • Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.60 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.56; revenues rose 7.8% year/year to $5.51 bln vs the $5.44 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
    • The year-over-year revenue increase was primarily due to the pulp business that was acquired in late 2016.
    • "International Paper delivered a solid first quarter in the face of several challenges, including the digester incident at our Pensacola mill and higher input costs driven by a significant rise in OCC prices," said Mark Sutton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Given the market fundamentals across most of our businesses in combination with several IP commercial and operational initiatives, we expect improved results pointing to a particularly strong second half as well as positive momentum entering 2018. I remain very confident in IP's ability to generate significant year-over-year earnings growth and continued strong cash flow in 2017.

>>> Ford Motor beats by $0.05, beats on revs; reaffirms profit outlook (11.60)

Ford Motor beats by $0.05, beats on revs; reaffirms profit outlook (11.60)
  • Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.39 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 3.5% year/year to $36.48 bln vs the $34.62 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Lower profit year over year driven by higher cost, lower volume and unfavorable exchange; higher cost due to warranty, investments in new products and emerging opportunities for future growth, and rising commodity costs
  • Average transaction prices in the U.S. were up $1,971 year over year, nearly four times more than the industry average of $506, driven by F-150, Super Duty and Lincoln
  • Automotive results were driven by North America; Europe and Asia Pacific were also profitable. Ford Credit pre-tax profit was $481M
  • For 2017: Continue to expect total company adjusted pre-tax profit to be about $9B, also a platform from which to build stronger results for 2018, led by gains in the core business; expect full-year cost efficiencies of nearly $3B to mostly offset costs outside of investments in emerging opportunities

>>> Raytheon beats by $0.13, beats on revs; guides FY17 EPS in-line, revs in-lin

Raytheon beats by $0.13, beats on revs; guides FY17 EPS in-line, revs in-line
  • Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.73 per share, $0.13 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.60; revenues rose 3.4% year/year to $6 bln vs the $5.83 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Co issues in-line guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $7.25-7.40 vs. $7.40 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY17 revs of $24.9-25.4 bln vs. $25.07 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. This compares to prior guidance for EPS of $7.20-7.35 and revs of $24.8-25.3 bln.
  • "Solid revenue growth and margin expansion drove strong earnings per share performance in the first quarter, with all of our businesses meeting or exceeding expectations," said Thomas A. Kennedy, Raytheon Chairman and CEO. "Our focus on global growth and operational excellence, combined with our balanced capital deployment strategy, continues to create value for our customers and shareholders."

>>> Under Armour beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY17 guidance

Under Armour beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY17 guidance (19.71)
  • Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.01 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.04); revenues rose 6.7% year/year to $1.12 bln vs the $1.11 bln Capital IQ Consensus. North American revenue declined 1 percent as new distribution was more than offset by the absence of business lost to bankruptcies in 2016. International revenue, which is comprised of our EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America regions, represented 20 percent of total revenue in the quarter, and was up 52 percent (up 57 percent currency neutral). By region, revenue was up 55 percent in EMEA, 60 percent in Asia-Pacific and 30 percent in Latin America. Apparel revenue increased 7 percent to $715 million including strength in training, golf, and team sports. Footwear revenue grew 2 percent to $270 million, against last year's same period which was up 64 percent due to significant strength in basketball sales and the timing of liquidations. Accessories revenue increased 12 percent to $89 million with strength in men's training, running, youth, and global football.
  • Gross margin was down 70 basis points (vs. 100 bps guidance) to 45.2 percent as benefits from channel and product mix were offset by continued efforts to manage inventories appropriate to market demand.
  • Co reaffirms guidance for FY17, sees FY17 revs +11-12% to nearly $5.4 bln vs. $5.35 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Gross margin expected to be slightly down compared to 46.4% in 2016 with benefits in product costs being offset by changes in foreign currency and shifts in overall sales mix, as the footwear and international businesses continue to outpace the growth of the higher margin apparel and North American businesses; Operating income expected to reach ~$320 million.

>>> Lazard beats by $0.04, beats on revs

Lazard beats by $0.04, beats on revs
  • Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.83 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.79; revenues rose 23.4% year/year to $624.43 mln vs the $611.43 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • AUM as of March 31, 2017, was a record $215 billion, up 13% from March 31, 2016, and up 9% from December 31, 2016, primarily driven by market appreciation. Net inflows of $3.3 billion were primarily driven by strategies in our global equity, multi-regional equity and emerging markets platforms.