IQVIA Holdings (IQV) Beats Q4 Earnings, Revenue Estimates

IQVIA Holdings Inc. IQV reported solid fourth-quarter 2018 results wherein the company’s earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Adjusted earnings of $1.50 per share beat the consensus mark by 3 cents and increased on a year-over-year basis. Total revenues of $2.68 billion outpaced the consensus estimate by $71.9 million and increased 6.6% year over year on a reported basis and 8.1% on a constant-currency basis.

Over the past year, shares of IQVIA Holdings have gained 25.9%, significantly outperforming the 9% rise of the industry it belongs to and 2.2% gain of the Zacks S&P 500 Composite Index.

 

Let’s check out the numbers in detail:

Segmental Revenues

Revenues from Technology & Analytics Solutions (TAS) totaled $1.12 billion, up 8.8% on a reported basis and 10.9% on a constant-currency basis. The segment accounted for 42% of total revenues.

Research & Development Solutions (R&DS) revenues of $1.36 billion increased 7.8% on a reported basis and 8.7% on a constant-currency basis. The segment contributed 51% to total revenues.

Revenues from Contract Sales & Medical Solutions (CSMS) totaled $193 million, down 10.6% on a reported basis and 8.8% on a constant-currency basis. The segment accounted for 7% of total revenues.

Operating Performance

Adjusted EBITDA was $583 million, up 10.8% on a reported basis and 9.7% on a constant-currency basis.

Operating income was $207 million, up 45.7% from the year-ago quarter. Operating income margin increased to 7.7% from 5.6% in the year-ago quarter.

Total selling, general and administrative expenses of $443 million were down 5.5% from the year-ago quarter.

 

IQVIA Holdings Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

IQVIA Holdings Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | IQVIA Holdings Inc. Quote

 

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

IQVIA Holdings exited fourth-quarter 2018 with cash and cash equivalents balance of $891 million compared with $827 million at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt at the end of the quarter was $10.9 billion compared with $10.5 billion at the end of the third quarter.

The company generated $417 million of cash from operating activities in the reported quarter and spent $138 million on capex.

IQVIA Holdings repurchased shares worth $604 million during the reported quarter, which includes $247 million repurchase of IQVIA’s remaining private equity sponsors. On Feb 13, 2019, the company’s board of directors approved a $2.0 billion increase its share repurchase authorization.

Guidance

IQVIA Holdings unveiled its guidance for first-quarter and full-year 2019.

Q1 Guidance

For first-quarter 2019, Insperity projects adjusted earnings in the range of $1.48-$1.53 per share. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.48 matches the lower end of the guided range.

Revenues are expected between $2,630 million and $2,680 million. Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated in the range of $575-$590 million.

2019 Guidance

For the full year, the company projects adjusted earnings between $6.20 per share and $6.40 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged lower at $5.53.

Revenues are expected to be between $10,900 million and $11,125 million. Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated in the range of $2,375-$2,425 million.

Zacks Rank & Upcoming Releases

IQVIA Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Investors interested in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are keenly awaiting fourth-quarter 2018 earnings reports of key players like Avis Budget CAR, Green Dot GDOT and Delphi Technologies DLPH. While Avis Budget and Green Dot are scheduled to report on Feb 20, Delphi Technologies is slated to report on Feb 21.

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