Meredith Beats Estimates Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Meredith (NYS: MDP) reported earnings on Jan. 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q2), Meredith missed on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Meredith notched revenue of $329 million. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $343 million. Sales were 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $367 million.

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

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.70. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.67 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.70 for Q2 were 20% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.88 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 60.9%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.7%, 230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.6%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $347 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.71.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.4 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.63.

Investor Sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 123 members out of 151 rating the stock outperform, and 28 members rating it underperform. Among 59 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 51 give Meredith 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 Meredith is outperform, with an average price target of $32.86.

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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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