J.P. Morgan Comments On BDX's "Mixed" F1Q Results

Becton, Dickinson and Co. BDX reported mixed F1Q results after the close on Monday, J.P. Morgan reports. “On the top line, sales of $1.842B (-1.4% reported, -1.5%cc) came in $46M light of consensus and $27M lower than our own forecast,” J.P. Morgan writes. “On the bottom line, adjusted EPS of $1.35 (+7.8%) was $0.06 above consensus, benefiting from $0.07 of one-off tax items, which were in full-year guidance, but not in guidance or expectations for the first quarter. “Despite the top-line miss and tax benefit, operating performance was otherwise solid this quarter as gross margin of 53.0% was 160bps better than our projection, more than offsetting higher than expected SG&A and R&D spending.” Becton, Dickinson and Co. currently trades at $85.64.