BATON ROUGE, La. - Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR), a prominent owner of outdoor advertising and logo sign displays, reported a solid fourth-quarter performance, surpassing Wall Street expectations. The company announced a fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.46, which was $0.11 higher than the analyst consensus of $1.35. Revenue for the quarter also exceeded forecasts, coming in at $555.91 million compared to the predicted $547.67 million.
The outdoor advertising giant's revenue marked a 3.8% increase from the same quarter last year, indicating a steady growth trajectory. This revenue growth was primarily attributed to the strength in local sales, as Lamar's CEO Sean Reilly highlighted. The company's ability to control expenses also contributed to the robust financial results.
Looking ahead, Lamar Advertising's guidance for fiscal year 2024 suggests a more cautious outlook. The company anticipates an EPS range of $5.02 to $5.07, which falls short of the analyst consensus of $5.34. The projected range for diluted adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share stands between $7.67 and $7.82. While the guidance for AFFO per share was not compared against a consensus estimate, the midpoint of this range, $7.745, may serve as a reference for investors to gauge expectations.
In his statement, CEO Sean Reilly expressed confidence, noting, "The result is that we achieved $7.47 in full year AFFO per diluted share, easily beating our revised guidance range for 2023. For 2024, we are projecting further growth in AFFO."
Despite the lack of specific percentage data regarding the stock's movement post-earnings release, the company's performance and future outlook are likely to be closely monitored by investors. With the company's guidance falling below analyst expectations, the market's reaction will be a key indicator of investor sentiment moving forward.
Lamar Advertising's financial health appears stable, with $715.8 million in total liquidity at the end of 2023, including available borrowing under its revolving senior credit facility and cash on hand. The company's strategy and performance in the dynamic advertising landscape will continue to be watched as it navigates through 2024.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.