Frontier Communications Beats on EPS but GAAP Results Lag

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Frontier Communications (NAS: FTR) reported earnings on Feb. 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins grew, operating margins improved, and net margins shrank.

Revenue details
Frontier Communications recorded revenue of $1.28 billion. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $1.27 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.6% lower 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 $0.07. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.06 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.04 for Q4 were 20% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.05 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 90.6%, 2,420 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 21.3%, 280 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.3%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.26 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.06.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.96 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.26.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 985 members out of 1,079 rating the stock outperform, and 94 members rating it underperform. Among 233 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 212 give Frontier Communications a green thumbs-up, and 21 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Frontier Communications is outperform, with an average price target of $6.61.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson owned shares of the following at the time of publication: Frontier Communications. 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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