Five of Six S&P 500 Firms Beat EPS Estimates as Costco and Cintas Lead Results

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Summary · why it matters

Five of the six S&P 500 companies reporting earnings this week topped consensus EPS estimates, with one matching expectations and none missing, while five of the six also expanded profits year over year. Costco Wholesale reported fiscal fourth-quarter net sales up 12% to $95.72 billion, beating estimates by $830 million, with diluted EPS up 15% to $6.57 and global adjusted comparable sales up 6.7%. Cintas posted fiscal first-quarter revenue up 11% year over year to $3.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.39, and raised its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to $12.15 billion to $12.27 billion and adjusted EPS guidance to $5.45 to $5.54. AutoZone reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue up 5.6% to $6.59 billion with EPS of $56.05, General Mills posted revenue of $4.4 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.75 with full-year EPS guidance of $3.00 to $3.20, and Paychex reported revenue up 6% to $1.63 billion with adjusted EPS of $1.34. Darden Restaurants reported first-quarter revenue of $3.2 billion, missing estimates by $10 million, with fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35 below the analyst forecast.

Impact on assets 14

Consumer Staples▲ · 4 stocks
Costco Wholesale Corp
COST
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

Costco's fiscal Q4 net sales rose 12% to $95.72 billion, beating estimates, with diluted EPS up 15% to $6.57.

General Mills Inc
GIS
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

General Mills posted revenue of $4.4 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.75 with full-year EPS guidance of $3.00 to $3.20.

Consumer Discretionary± Mixed · 4 stocks
Darden Restaurants Inc
DRI
▼ NegativeCapitalrelevance

Darden's Q1 revenue of $3.2 billion missed estimates by $10 million and its fiscal 2027 EPS guidance came in below analyst forecasts.

AutoZone Inc
AZO
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

AutoZone reported fiscal Q4 revenue up 5.6% to $6.59 billion with EPS of $56.05, a positive earnings result.

Industrials▲ · 2 stocks
Cintas Corporation
CTAS
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

Cintas posted fiscal Q1 revenue up 11% to $3.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.39, and raised its fiscal 2027 guidance.

Cloud & Digital Infrastructure▲ · 2 stocks
Paychex Inc
PAYX
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

Paychex reported revenue up 6% to $1.63 billion with adjusted EPS of $1.34, beating estimates.

Artificial Intelligence▲ · 1 stocks
Semiconductors▲ · 1 stocks
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