Sherwin-Williams (SHW) Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Sales Top

The Sherwin-Williams Company SHW is a manufacturer, distributor and retailer of paint, coatings and related products.

Earnings

Sherwin-Williams’ adjusted earnings were $2.95 per share for the fourth quarter. It trailed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.18.

Revenues

Sherwin-Williams posted record fourth-quarter revenues of $3,979.6 million, up 43% year over year. It surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,941.2 million. Sales were driven by increased paint sales volumes in the Americas Group unit and the addition of Valspar sales since June 2017.

Estimate Trend & Surprise History

Investors should note that the earnings estimate for Sherwin-Williams for the fourth quarter has been going down over the past month. The company has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with an average beat of around 3.9%.

Key Stats/Developments to Note

Sherwin-Williams projects mid-to-high single digit percentage increase in net sales year over year for first-quarter 2018. It also sees incremental sales from Valspar acquisition to be roughly $1 billion in the first quarter.

For full-year 2018, Sherwin-Williams projects mid-to-high single digit percentage increase in net sales from 2017. It also sees incremental sales from the Valspar buyout to be roughly $1.6 billion for the first five months of the year. At this level, the company expects earnings per share for the year to be in the range of $15.35 to $15.85 per share, compared with $18.67 earned in 2017. The guidance includes around $3.45 per share charge related to the Valspar acquisition.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Sherwin-Williams has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could change following the company’s earnings report which was just released. Meanwhile, you can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Market Reaction

Sherwin-Williams’ shares were up 0.5% in the pre-market trading. It would be interesting to see how the market reacts to the results during the trading session today.

Check back later for our full write up on Sherwin-Williams’ earnings report!

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