McKesson Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Rising Revenue, Falling EPS Over Previous Quarter

McKesson MCK announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, July 28, 2011. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's first quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Wall Street expects a EPS of $1.14 per share and revenues of $29.04 billion. Wall Street will be looking to see how this quarter's numbers compare to the year-ago quarter's positive EPS of $1.10 per share on revenues of $27.45 billion. We'll have to wait for Thursday to see if McKesson falls in line with analyst expectations and reports an estimated increase in both EPS and revenue from the year-ago quarter.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q4	Q3	Q2	Q1
EPS Estimate	$1.60	$1.11	$1.09	$1.07
EPS Actual	$1.66	$1.12	$1.03	$1.10

Stock Performance:

Shares of McKesson were trading at $82.31 as of July 22, 2011. Shares are up 17.5% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 35.4%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for McKesson is a Moderate Buy. This rating has strengthened slightly over the past ninety days.

Competitors:

Looking for a sympathy stock to trade or interested in the performance of other companies in the same sector? Take a look at some of McKesson's peers.

• AmerisourceBergen ABC: Moderate Buy with a $0.77 recent quarter EPS
• Cardinal Health CAH: Moderate Buy with a $0.75 recent quarter EPS
• Cerner CERN: Hold with a $0.38 recent quarter EPS
• Henry Schein HSIC: Moderate Buy with a $0.82 recent quarter EPS

The retail-drug stores company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 1.5% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: McKesson delivers cost-reducing medicines, pharmaceutical supplies, information and care management products and services.

Take Action:

Now that you have reviewed all the numbers, be ready to move if the upcoming McKesson earnings report has any surprises. Also, come back to Benzinga after the announcement for a full recap and a guide to your next steps.

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