Two More Earnings Beats

Another busy morning for news. First off, the initial-jobless claims report came in at 779,000. That beat estimates of 830,000. That’s good news. The government’s jobs report is due out tomorrow.

We also had two more Buy List earnings reports. Hershey (HSY) earned $1.49 per share which beat estimates by six cents per share.

Sales grew 5.7% to $2.19 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $2.11 billion, as volume and prices increased. North America sales rose 8.9% to $1.97 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.90 billion, while international and other revenue dropped 17.3% to $211.3 million to miss expectations of $219.7 million.

For 2021, Hershey expects EPS growth of 6% to 8%. Last year, Hershey made $6.29 per share so this year’s range is about $6.67 to $6.80 per share. Wall Street had been expecting $6.58 per share.

Also, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) earned $1.13 per share which beat estimates of $1.08 per share.

This is ICE’s 15th year in a row of record revenues. For the year, ICE earned $4.51 per share. Adjusted operating margin was 59%.

The company is also raising its quarterly dividend by 10% to 33 cents per share. The first quarter cash dividend is payable on March 31, 2021 to stockholders of record as of March 17, 2021.

Posted by on February 4th, 2021 at 11:05 am


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.