Wabash National Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Wabash National (NYS: WNC) reported earnings on Feb. 6. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins contracted, operating margins grew, and net margins expanded.

Revenue details
Wabash National logged revenue of $336.4 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated a top line of $316.9 million. Sales were 41% higher than the prior-year quarter's $170.8 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.02. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.05 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.11 for Q3 were 57% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.07 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 6.0%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.5%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.2%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $344.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.10.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.19 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.22.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 82 members out of 139 rating the stock outperform, and 57 members rating it underperform. Among 34 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 18 give Wabash National a green thumbs-up, and 16 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Wabash National is buy, with an average price target of $12.40.

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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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