Aramark shares jump after earnings beat, acquisition and share buyback announcement
hares of Aramark jumped 6% in Tuesday trading after the food-service company reported third-fiscal-quarter earnings, a new share-buyback program and an acquisition. Net income totaled $90 million, or 33 cents per share, up from $72.6 million, or 29 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS of 47 cents beat the 45-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue of $4.01 billion was up from $3.97 billion and ahead of the $3.99 billion FactSet outlook. Aramark expects fiscal 2019 revenue growth of about 3% and adjusted EPS of $2.20 to $2.30. The FactSet outlook is for revenue of $16.22 billion, which indicates about 2.3% growth, and EPS of $2.24. After the conclusion of the third quarter, Aramark's board approved a new share-repurchase program authorizing the purchase of up to $200 million in common stock through July 2022. Aramark also announced that it has acquired app-based food service Good Uncle, which offers pickup points around 400 college campuses nationwide. Aramark's stock has rallied 27.7% in 2019, while the S&P 500 index has gained 14.7%.
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