Rambus Goes Negative

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Rambus (NAS: RMBS) reported earnings on Jan. 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Rambus beat slightly on revenues and whiffed on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped, and earnings per share shrank to a loss.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Rambus booked revenue of $83.4 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $82.0 million. Sales were 8.3% lower than the prior-year quarter's $90.9 million.

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

EPS details
EPS came in at -$0.26. The one earnings estimate compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast -$0.03 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.26 for Q4 versus $0.29 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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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 91.1%, 680 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -5.6%, 4,870 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -34.4%, 7,080 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $313.0 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.16.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 443 members out of 529 rating the stock outperform, and 86 members rating it underperform. Among 88 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 70 give Rambus a green thumbs-up, and 18 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Rambus is outperform, with an average price target of $17.25.

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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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