Texas Instruments (TXN) Reports In-Line Q4 EPS

Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) reported Q4 EPS of $0.69, in-line with the analyst estimate of $0.69. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.27 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion.

GAAP EPS was $0.77 for Q4.

Regarding the company's performance and returns to shareholders, Rich Templeton, TI's chairman, president and CEO, made the following comments:

• "Revenue growth of 8 percent year-over-year was consistent with our expectations, as were earnings per share, excluding the two items. Strength in both of these came from another quarter of strong execution.
• "Analog and Embedded Processing drove revenue growth in the quarter, and combined, they comprised 85 percent of fourth-quarter revenue.
• "Gross margin of 58.0 percent reflects the diversity and longevity of our product portfolio, as well as the efficiency of our manufacturing strategy.
• "Our cash flow from operations once again underscores the strength of our business model. Free cash flow for the year was up 18 percent from a year ago to $3.5 billion or 27 percent of revenue. This represents an increase of 3 percentage points from a year ago and is consistent with our targeted range of 20-30 percent of revenue.
• "We returned $4.2 billion to shareholders in the year through stock repurchases and dividends.
• "Our strategy to return to shareholders 100 percent of free cash flow plus proceeds from exercises of equity compensation minus net debt retirement reflects our confidence in the long-term sustainability of our business model.
• "Our balance sheet remains strong, with $3.5 billion of cash and short-term investments at the end of the quarter, 82 percent of which was owned by the company's U.S. entities. Inventory ended the quarter at 117 days.
• "TI's outlook for the first quarter of 2015 is for revenue in the range of $3.07 billion to $3.33 billion and earnings per share between $0.57 and $0.67. At the midpoint of our range, revenue would increase 7 percent from the year-ago quarter. The annual effective tax rate for 2015 is expected to be about 30 percent, which does not assume the reinstatement of the R&D tax credit." (The Street sees Q1 EPS of $0.62 and revs of $3.19 billion.)

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Texas Instruments (TXN) click here.

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