Cincinnati Bell Meets on Revenues, Misses on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Cincinnati Bell (NYS: CBB) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Cincinnati Bell reported revenue of $365.3 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $370.7 million. GAAP sales were 0.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $362.8 million.

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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 $0.03. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.06 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.17 for Q4 compared to -$0.10 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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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 52.2%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.8%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -8.3%, 320 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $366.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.07.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 108 members out of 119 rating the stock outperform, and 11 members rating it underperform. Among 29 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 28 give Cincinnati Bell a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

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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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