First Cash Financial Services Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

First Cash Financial Services (NAS: FCFS) reported earnings on Jan. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), First Cash Financial Services missed slightly on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew and earnings per share grew.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
First Cash Financial Services reported revenue of $147 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted net sales of $149 million. Sales were 13% higher than the prior-year quarter's $130 million.

anImage
anImage

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

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.70. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.69 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.70 for Q4 were 13% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.62 per share.

anImage
anImage

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 31.6%, 2,680 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 22.0%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.6%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $139 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.58.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $603 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.68.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 505 members out of 526 rating the stock outperform, and 21 members rating it underperform. Among 172 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 164 give First Cash Financial Services a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on First Cash Financial Services is outperform, with an average price target of $49.11.

Over the decades, small-cap stocks like First Cash Financial Services have produced market-beating returns, provided they're value-priced and have solid businesses. Read about a pair of companies with a lock on their markets in "Too Small to Fail: 2 Small Caps the Government Won't Let Go Broke." Click here for instant access to this free report.

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.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement