STEC Goes Negative

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

STEC (NAS: STEC) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
STEC booked revenue of $58.1 million. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $56.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 38% lower than the prior-year quarter's $93.9 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 -$0.02. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.01 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.08 for Q4 compared to $0.34 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 41.1%, 410 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -9.3%, 2,760 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -6.2%, 2,480 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $48.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.08.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $244.7 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.12.

Investor sentiment

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on STEC is hold, with an average price target of $9.83.

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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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