Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company WLTWis slated to report first-quarter 2018 results on May 7, before the market opens. Last reported quarter, the company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.74%.
Let’s see, how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Commissions and fees in the first quarter are likely to have improved on organic growth across all segments and a solid contribution from acquisitions.
In its Exchange business, Willis Towers continues to maintain a robust 2018 sales pipeline in both the middle and large markets. For 2018, the company enrolled 0.2 million lives with 35,000 retirees in the individual marketplace and estimates another 45,000-55,000 retirees to enroll further. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for exchange solutions revenues is pegged at $192 million, up 1.6%, sequentially.
Operational Improvement Program and cost synergies derived from the company’s merger are likely to have benefited its margins.
Share buybacks have probably boosted the company’s bottom line.
However, hedging costs and adverse forex could limit this upside.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings stands at $2.63 per share on revenues of $$2.2 billion. These in turn translate into a respective year-over-year decrease of 29.1% and nearly 7%.
What the Quantitative Model Indicates
Our proven model shows that Willis Towers is likely to beat estimates this to-be-reported quarter. This is because it has the right combination of the two main ingredients — a positive Earnings ESP and a favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — for an earnings beat.
Zacks ESP: Willis Towers has an Earnings ESPof +0.71%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate of $2.65 is pegged higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.63. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our https://www.zacks.com/premium/esp-buy?adid=zp_article_espfil...">Earnings ESP Filter.