American International Group Makes Analysts Look Bad

American International Group (NYSE: AIG  ) reported earnings on Feb. 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), American International Group met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly. GAAP earnings per share shrank to a loss.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
American International Group reported revenue of $8.61 billion. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for net sales of $8.70 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 21% lower than the prior-year quarter's $17.43 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.20. The 17 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.07 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.20 for Q4 were 76% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.82 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.07 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.) GAAP EPS were -$2.68 for Q4 against $10.42 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 10.8%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.6%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -28.6%, much worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $8.61 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.84.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $35.95 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.46.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,795 members out of 3,367 rating the stock outperform, and 572 members rating it underperform. Among 717 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 619 give American International Group a green thumbs-up, and 98 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on American International Group is outperform, with an average price target of $39.77.

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