Crown Holdings(CCK) ZACKS·2025-03-07 17:36Core Viewpoint - Crown Holdings reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, surpassing estimates and showing year-over-year growth in adjusted EPS and gross profit, despite some challenges in net sales and cash flow [2][9][10]. Financial Performance - Adjusted EPS for Q4 2024 was 1.52, and reflecting a 28% increase year-over-year [2]. - Net sales for Q4 totaled 2.86 billion in the previous year, although it fell short of the consensus estimate of 650 million, with a gross margin improvement to 22.4% from 21.4% [4]. Segment Performance - The Americas Beverage segment reported net sales of 275 million [6]. - The European Beverage segment saw a significant sales increase of 16.3% to 51 million from 308 million, while the Transit Packaging segment's sales fell to 541 million, with a 21.3% drop in operating profit [7]. Cash Flow and Balance Sheet - Cash and cash equivalents decreased to 1.31 billion at the end of 2023, with cash generated from operating activities at 1.45 billion in the prior year [8]. - Long-term debt reduced to 6.69 billion year-over-year [8]. 2024 and 2025 Outlook - For 2024, adjusted EPS was reported at 6.35, with a year-over-year improvement of 9% [9]. - The company projects adjusted EPS for 2025 to be between 7.00, with expected adjusted free cash flow of $800 million [11]. Market Position and Estimates - There has been an upward trend in estimates for Crown Holdings, with a 6.67% shift in consensus estimates over the past month [12]. - The company holds a strong Growth Score of A and an aggregate VGM Score of A, indicating solid performance metrics [13].