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All Round Performance to Aid S&P Global (SPGI) in Q1 Earnings

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S&P Global Inc. (SPGI - Free Report) is slated to report first-quarter 2018 results on Apr 26, before the bell.

We expect S&P Global's results to be driven by strength across all segments, margin improvement and positive impacts of U.S. tax reforms.

We observe that shares of S&P Global have gained 43.4% in the past year, outperforming the industry’s 16.1% rally.

Here are the expectations in detail.

Top Line to be Driven by Strength Across all Segments

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.54 billion, reflecting an increase of 6% when compared with the year-ago quarter’s actual figure. The improvement is expected to be driven by strength across all the segments — S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Market and Commodities and S&P Dow Jones Indices.

S&P Global Ratings’ revenues are expected to be driven by an increase in both transaction and non-transaction revenues. Revenues at the S&P Global Market and Commodities Intelligence are likely to improve backed by increase in organic revenues. Surge in exchange-traded products and increased derivatives trading should drive S&P Dow Jones Indices revenues.

In the fourth quarter, S&P Global’s total revenues of $1.59 billion were up 13.6% year over year.

S&P Global Inc. Revenue (TTM)

Bottom Line to be Driven by Revenue Growth & Tax Cuts

The consensus estimate for adjusted EPS is pegged at $1.98, mirroring year-over-year growth of 22.2%. This significant increase in the metric is likely to be driven by robust revenue growth and margin improvement backed by productivity initiatives, divestitures and synergies realization.

Also, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that reduced corporate tax rates significantly from 35% to 21%, is expected to benefit S&P Global’s earnings in the to-be-reported quarter.

In the fourth quarter, adjusted EPS was $1.85, which improved 44.5% year over year.

What Our Model Says

According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP. The Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) are best avoided. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

S&P Global has an Earnings ESP of +0.09% and a Zacks Rank #3, which indicates a likely positive surprise.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some stocks from the broader Business Services sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in first-quarter 2018:

Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.83% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to report quarterly numbers on May 2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Brink’s Company (BCO - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.25% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The company is slated to report quarterly results on Apr 25.

FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. has an Earnings ESP of +0.37% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is expected to report quarterly numbers on May 7.

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