L Brands's Earnings Beat Last Year's by 17%

L Brands (NYSE: LTD  ) reported earnings on May 22. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended May 4 (Q1), L Brands met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins dropped, operating margins grew, net margins expanded.

Revenue details
L Brands reported revenue of $2.27 billion. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $2.25 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.15 billion.

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 $0.48. The 25 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.46 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.48 for Q1 were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.41 per share.

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 41.5%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.7%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.3%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.51 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.53.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $10.92 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.15.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 567 members out of 664 rating the stock outperform, and 97 members rating it underperform. Among 229 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 216 give L Brands a green thumbs-up, and 13 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on L Brands is outperform, with an average price target of $51.73.

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