Plexus Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Plexus (NAS: PLXS) reported earnings on Jan. 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q1), Plexus met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue contracted, and earnings per share shrank significantly.

Gross margins expanded, operating margins shrank, net margins contracted.

Revenue details
Plexus booked revenue of $530 million. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $528 million. Sales were 6.4% lower than the prior-year quarter's $566 million

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.51. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.48 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.51 for Q1 were 16% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.61 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 9.8%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.5%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.4%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $550 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.51.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.3 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.24.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 357 members out of 379 rating the stock outperform, and 22 members rating it underperform. Among 109 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 106 give Plexus a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Plexus is hold, with an average price target of $27.40.

At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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