Dr. Pepper Snapple Shares Rise After Earnings Beat

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. shares rose 2.7% in Thursday premarket trading after the beverage company reported third-quarter earnings that beat estimates. The company said it had net income of $240 million, or $1.29 per share, up from $202 million, or $1.05 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.17, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.11. Revenue for the quarter was $1.68 billion, up from $1.63 billion and above the FactSet estimate of $1.65 billion. The water category grew 16% with strength in the Bai, Fiji and Aguafiel brands. The company also saw growth across carbonated beverages including Schweppes (9%), Squirt (7%) and Crush (4%). The company continues to expect full-year sales growth of 2% and now expects adjusted EPS in the range of $4.32 to $4.40. The FactSet EPS consensus is $4.37. Dr. Pepper Snapple shares are down nearly 5% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 4.7% for the same period.