The Gory Details on General Cable's Double Fumble

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

General Cable (NYS: BGC) reported earnings on Feb. 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
General Cable logged revenue of $1.37 billion. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $1.44 billion. GAAP sales were 0.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.36 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.30. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.37 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.09 for Q4 were 86% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.66 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 9.3%, 170 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.3%, 250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.3%, 230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.42 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.32.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $6.10 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.02.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 619 members rating the stock outperform and 24 members rating it underperform. Among 187 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 182 give General Cable a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on General Cable is outperform, with an average price target of $38.56.

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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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