This "look-ahead" post discusses how I came up with an estimate for Automatic Data Processing's earnings for fiscal 2021's second quarter, which ended on December 31, 2020, by predicting each element of its Income Statement, from top-line Revenue to bottom-line Earnings Per Share (EPS) and everything in between.
Once the company’s official results become available on January 27, I will compare the published Income Statement to the prediction and identify any surprises, positive or negative. Examining these differences can identify what factors (e.g., profit margins, non-GAAP expenses, tax rates, share buybacks) are driving changes to a company's financial performance.
But, before we get into the details, let's take a step back and start with background information about ADP.
ADP provides "human capital management" and human resource outsourcing services, such as payroll, benefits, and personnel management, to numerous firms around the world. These services are increasingly cloud-based. In the company's most recent fiscal year, ADP "processed and delivered more than 69 million employee year-end tax statements, and moved more than $2.2 trillion in client funds."
ADP recorded profits of $2 billion on revenue of $15 billion during the last year. In the quarter that ended on 30 September 2020, ADP earned $1.41 per share (excluding certain items), which significantly beat the $0.96 Wall Street consensus forecast. See https://tinyurl.com/y4jsk38m for ADP's most recent quarterly report.
Revenue in the September 2020 quarter totaled $3.5 billion, 1% less than last year's $3.5 billion. The Employer Services business was responsible for 68% of overall revenue, and this unit's revenue fell by 2.6% compared to the year-earlier result. The PEO Services business contributed 32% of revenue, and this unit's revenue grew by 3.7%.
My starting point, if available, when estimating earnings is guidance provided by the company's management to financial analysts. It's true that the company may downplay expectations somewhat to avoid disappointments, but the top managers ought to know better than anyone else how well their products and services are selling. I also look for other information about the company in the news, and I take advantage of trends in the company's historical results. While it makes my task a little more difficult, I also try to estimate earnings that conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Non-GAAP results, which most professionals focus on, are somewhat arbitrary and often exclude meaningful items.
ADP management communicated their expectations for the December 2020 quarter last October.
The guidance indicates that the company expects fiscal 2021 revenue to match fiscal 2020 revenue, which was $14.6 billion, give or take 1 percent. In the first quarter of fiscal 2021, ADP recorded revenue of $3.47 billion, down 0.7 percent. It seems reasonable to conclude that second quarter revenue should also be more or less the same as the year-earlier figure, $3.67 billion. I rounded up to $3.7 billion.
ADP also forecast margins lower than last year by 1 to 1.5 percent, which can be modeled by increasing costs relative to revenue. The tax rate and EPS guidance is also helpful and seems realistic.
The following baseline Income Statement takes into consideration the information mentioned above and trends seen in the company's historical results. Earnings are estimated to be $598 million ($1.39 per share).
Please note that my organization of revenues, expenses, gains, and losses, which I use for all analyses, can and often does differ in material respects from company-used formats. The standardization facilitates cross-company comparisons.
#adp #gauges #gcfr #gcfr2 #lookahead #nac_financialanalysis