The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG Quick QuoteIPG - Free Report) reported better-than-expected third-quarter 2021 results.

Adjusted earnings (excluding 3 cents from non-recurring items) of 63 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 28.6%. Moreover, the bottom line increased 19% on a year-over-year basis.

Net revenues of $2.3 billion beat the consensus estimate by 3.3% and increased 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. The upside can be attributed to organic net revenues increase of 15% and foreign currency translation was positive 1.1%. Total revenues of $2.54 billion increased 19.6% year over year.

In the past year, shares of Interpublic have surged 98.5% compared with a 49.3% increase of the industry it belongs to.

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Operating Results

Operating income in the quarter came in at $351.5 million, up 41.4% from the prior-year quarter’s figure. Operating margin on net revenues surged to 15.5% from 12.7% in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin on total revenues also increased to 13.8% from 11.7% in the year-ago quarter.

Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. The Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. The price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. The Quote

Adjusted EBITA came in at $373 million, up 38.2% from the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITA margin on net revenues increased to 16.5% from 13.8% in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITA margin on total revenues rose to 14.7% from 12.7% in the year-ago quarter. Total operating expenses of $2.2 billion increased 16.7% year over year.

Balance Sheet

As of Sep 30, 2021, Interpublic had cash and cash equivalents of $2.49 billion compared with $2.34 billion at the end of the prior quarter. Total debt was $3.45 billion compared with $3.47 billion at the end of the prior quarter.

During the third quarter, the company paid out a cash dividend of 27 cents per share, amounting to $106.2 million.

Currently, Interpublic carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1(Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Upcoming Releases

Investors interested in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are keenly awaiting second-quarter 2021 earnings reports of key players like Waste Connections (WCN Quick QuoteWCN - Free Report) , Waste Management (WM Quick QuoteWM - Free Report) and Republic Services (RSG Quick QuoteRSG - Free Report) . While Waste Connections will release results on Oct 27, Waste Management and Republic Services will report the same on Oct 26 and Oct 28, respectively.