Juniper Networks Beats Estimates but Has a Big Earnings Drop

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Juniper Networks (NYS: JNPR) reported earnings on Jan. 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Juniper Networks met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Juniper Networks reported revenue of $1.12 billion. The 29 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $1.12 billion. Sales were 5.8% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.19 billion.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.28. The 30 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.27 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.16 for Q4 were 49% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.35 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 62.4%, 420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.3%, 630 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 8.6%, 740 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $977.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.13.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.46 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.97.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 660 members out of 761 rating the stock outperform, and 101 members rating it underperform. Among 182 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 162 give Juniper Networks a green thumbs-up, and 20 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Juniper Networks is hold, with an average price target of $24.32.

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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 don't 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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