Equifax: 1Q Earnings Snapshot

ATLANTA (AP) _ Equifax Inc. (EFX) on Friday reported a first-quarter loss of $555.9 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The Atlanta-based company said it had a loss of $4.57 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.20 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.19 per share.

The credit reporting company posted revenue of $846.1 million in the period, which fell short of Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $847.7 million.

For the current quarter ending in July, Equifax expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.32 to $1.37. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.50.

The company said it expects revenue in the range of $865 million to $880 million for the fiscal second quarter. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $887.7 million.

Equifax expects full-year earnings in the range of $5.60 to $5.80 per share, with revenue ranging from $3.43 billion to $3.53 billion.

Equifax shares have increased 28% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased 15%. The stock has increased nearly 5% in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on EFX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/EFX