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Sealed Air (SEE) to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

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Sealed Air Corporation (SEE - Free Report) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2020 results on May 5, before the opening bell.

Q1 Estimates

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.15 billion, indicating an improvement of 3% from the year-ago reported figure. The same for earnings stands at 59 cents, flat compared with the prior-year quarter.

Notably, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has remained stable in the past 30 days. The company, which is a global leader in food safety and security, and product protection, has an impressive surprise history. It has beat estimates in the trailing four quarters by 8.88%, on average.
 

Sealed Air Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Sealed Air Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Sealed Air Corporation price-eps-surprise | Sealed Air Corporation Quote

A Peek at Q4

Sealed Air’s fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share of 78 cents, improved 4% year over year. Total revenues increased 3% year over year to $1,299 billion. The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate on both counts.

Key Factors to Note

The ongoing slowdown in the global industrial market is likely to have impacted demand in the first quarter. Nevertheless, elevated demand from food, beverage, healthcare and the e-commerce sector due to the coronavirus-induced crisis might have contributed to the to-be-reported quarter’s performance. Further, the company’s recent acquisitions, which include Automated Packaging Systems and AFP, are likely to get reflected in the first-quarter results.

In December 2018, Sealed Air announced a reformation plan — Reinvent SEE Strategy — along with a fresh restructuring program to drive growth and earnings. The strategy is focused on innovations, SG&A productivity, product-cost efficiency, channel optimization and customer-service enhancements. Savings from these initiatives are likely to have contributed to the operating margin and thus, are expected get reflected on the first-quarter results.

However, currency headwinds, input cost inflation and higher freight charges may have impacted margins in the quarter under review. Moreover, as Sealed Air continued to invest in R&D, and sales and marketing to drive future growth, the bottom line is expected to reflect the impact of higher R&D expenses in the to-be-reported quarter.

Segment Estimates

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Food Care segment’s first-quarter net sales is pegged at $665 million, indicating a decrease of 2% from the year-ago reported figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the segment’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is pegged at $142 million, suggesting decline of 1% from the prior-year quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Product Care segment’s net sales is pegged at $489 million for the first quarter, indicating year-over-year improvement of 13%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the segment’s EBITDA is $91 million, suggesting growth of 21% from $75 million in the prior-year quarter.

The company’s traditional packaging solutions, which include Bubble Wrap, standardized mailers, shrink film and void fill, generate around one-third of the Product Care segment’s sales. This part of the segment is bearing the brunt of the market’s shift to automation and the global industrial manufacturing slowdown.

Price Performance

Over the past year, shares of Sealed Air have fallen 36.4% compared with the industry’s decline of 42.3%.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Sealed Air this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of a positive surprise. But that’s not the case here.

Earnings ESP: Sealed Air has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, Sealed Air carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Here are a few Industrial Products stocks, which you may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming releases.

TPI Composites, Inc. (TPIC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +74.55% and a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ball Corporation has an Earnings ESP of +3.00% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

Axon Enterprise, Inc. has an Earnings ESP of +2.13% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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