Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Walmart, Cardinal Health and Eli Lilly
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – August 19, 2024 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Walmart WMT, Cardinal Health CAH and Eli Lilly LLY.
3 Companies Reporting Remarkable Results: WMT, LLY CAH
The 2024 Q2 earnings season is slowly grinding to a halt, with the vast majority of S&P 500 companies already delivering quarterly results. Peeking a bit ahead, earnings for the current period (2024 Q3) are expected to be up 4.3% on 4.6% higher revenues, chaining together consecutive periods of positivity.
Several companies have stolen the spotlight throughout the period, including Walmart, Cardinal Health and Eli Lilly. All three posted robust results and upped guidance, with shares of each seeing bullish activity post earnings.
Let’s take a closer look at each.
Walmart Shares Keep Climbing
Concerning headline figures, retail titan Walmart posted 22% EPS growth on nearly 5% higher sales, with both items exceeding consensus expectations. The company has consistently seen its shares benefit from quarterly prints throughout the year.
The company was firing on all cylinders throughout the period, seeing its gross margin improve by 43 basis points and seeing a notable improvement in its operating income. Importantly, eCommerce penetration also continues to provide tailwinds, which was higher across all segments throughout the period.
Walmart’s digital efforts have been a great source of growth for the company, consistently posting robust results over recent periods. Global eCommerce sales melted 21% higher, with customers increasingly opting for fulfilled pickup and delivery.
Walmart increased its FY25 net sales and adjusted operating income guidance following the print, explaining the positive reaction post-earnings. The earnings outlook for its current fiscal year was already bullish heading into the release, with expectations likely to continue moving higher following the updated outlook.
Cardinal Health Generates Record Cash Flows
Cardinal Health continued its earnings positivity, posting a 7% beat relative to the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate and reporting sales 2% ahead of expectations. Earnings shot 29% higher, whereas sales were up 12% from the same period last year.
Notably, the company’s cash-generating abilities saw a big boost, with CAH posting record operating and free cash flow of $3.8 and $3.9 billion, respectively.
Jason Hollar, CEO, said, ‘We delivered robust cash flow generation, continued profit growth in the Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment and significant improvement driven by our GMPD Improvement Plan. We enter the new fiscal year with momentum and confidence, evidenced by our raised fiscal year 2025 guidance.’
The valuation picture isn’t rich for the stock, with the current 13.9X forward 12-month earnings multiple primarily in line with historical averages over the past few years. In addition, the current PEG ratio works out to 1.1X, reflecting that investors are paying a fair price for the forecasted growth.
Mounjaro Demand Soars for Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly shares have been red-hot in 2024 thanks to robust results stemming from unrelenting demand, up nearly 60% and widely outperforming relative to the S&P 500. Shares popped following its latest release, with earnings and sales climbing 85% and 35%, respectively.
Following the print, the company upgraded its current year sales guidance by a sizable $3 billion.
The story behind Eli Lilly has been driven by its diabetes drug Mounjaro and its weight loss injection Zepbound, which have seen unrelenting demand among consumers. Mounjaro sales jumped 216% year-over-year, whereas Zepbound sales of $1.2 billion also reflected strong demand.
Earnings expectations have shot higher across the board following the release, with LLY sporting a favorable Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Sales expectations for its current fiscal year have also been adjusted accordingly among analysts, with the now $45 billion expected suggesting 35% Y/Y growth.
Bottom Line
The 2024 Q2 earnings season is slowly winding down, with a small chunk of S&P 500 companies remaining to report.
So far, we’ve been greeted by positivity from several companies, including those listed above. All three posted robust results and upped their outlooks, a bullish pairing.
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Walmart Inc. (WMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) : Free Stock Analysis Report