An Earnings Beat: Europe’s largest oil company Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) plc RDS.A reported earnings per ADS (on a current cost of supplies basis, excluding items – the market’s preferred measure) of $1.38, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.30 and the year-ago profit of $1.04.
Estimate Revision Trend & Surprise History: The stock had seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings being revised 12.2% downward over the last 30 days.
Coming to earnings surprise history, the blue-chip company has a mixed record: its beaten estimates in two of the last four quarters, as shown in the chart below:
Royal Dutch Shell PLC Price and EPS Surprise
Royal Dutch Shell PLC Price and EPS Surprise | Royal Dutch Shell PLC Quote
Revenues: Revenues of $104.6 billion were 18.7% above the fourth-quarter 2017 sales of $88.1 billion and also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $86.9 billion.
Key Stats: Upstream segment recorded a profit of $1.9 billion (excluding items) during the quarter, up 14% from the $1.7 billion (adjusted) achieved in the year-ago period. Shell’s upstream volumes averaged 2,809 thousand oil-equivalent barrels per day (MBOE/d), 1% higher than the year-ago period. At $59.89 per barrel, the group’s worldwide realized liquids prices were 8% above the year-earlier levels while natural gas prices were up 30%.
In the downstream segment – that focuses on refining, marketing and retailing – the Anglo-Dutch super-major reported adjusted income of $2.1 billion, 53% more than the $1.4 billion earned in the year-ago period.
The Integrated Gas unit reported adjusted income of $2.4 billion, up 44% from the $1.6 billion in October-December quarter of 2017.
Moreover, the oil major’s operating cash flow soared 202% from the year-earlier level to $22 billion.
Buyback Plans: As part of the company’s $25 billion buyback program during the period 2018-2020, Shell will repurchase $2.5 billion worth of shares up to Apr 29 in the third instalment.
Zacks Rank: Currently, Royal Dutch Shell carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
(You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.)
Check back later for our full write up on this Royal Dutch Shell earnings report later!
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.
Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.
See the pot trades we're targeting>>
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A): Get Free Report
Original post
Zacks Investment Research