The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) reported dismal second-quarter 2017 results with GAAP earnings of $94.7 million or 24 cents per share, down from $156.9 million or 38 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to lower revenues.
Adjusted earnings were $107.8 million or 27 cents per share compared with $137.2 million or 33 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 34 cents.
Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) Quote
Revenues
Revenues for the reported quarter were $1.88 billion, down 1.7% from the prior-year period. The decrease was due to negative foreign currency translation effect of 1.1%. Also, net divestures negatively impacted revenues by 1%. Quarterly revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.96 billion.
Geographically, Interpublic reported revenues of $1.16 billion in the U.S., a decline of 0.7% and $0.72 billion in international markets, a fall of 3.3%.
Margins
Operating income decreased to $206.5 million from $224.3 million in year-ago quarter, due to increase in salaries and related expenses. Operating margin declined to 11% from 11.7% in the prior-year quarter. It also decreased 70 basis points (bps) year over year. Total operating expenses in the quarter were $1,678.4 million compared with $1,693.6 million in the year-ago quarter, due to higher office and general expenses.
Balance Sheet
As of Jun 30, 2017, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $660.8 million compared with $675.4 million in the year-ago period. Total debt was $1.82 billion as of Jun 30, 2017.
Share Repurchase/Dividend
During the second quarter, the company repurchased 2.5 million shares for $60 million.
Interpublic paid a dividend of 18 cents per share for a total consideration of $70.5 million during the reported quarter.
Outlook Reaffirmed
For 2017, the company reaffirmed its guidance. It continues to expect organic growth in the range of 3–4%, with a 50 bps improvement in operating margins.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Interpublic currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the industry include Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) , Publicis Groupe S.A. (OTC:PUBGY) and WPP (LON:WPP) plc (NASDAQ:WPPGY) . All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1(Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
Omnicom has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 7.5% and is currently trading at a forward P/E of 16.18x.
Publicis Groupe has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 12.9% and is currently trading at a forward P/E of 13.83x.
WPP plc has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 9.8% and is currently trading at a forward P/E of 12.69x.
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