MDC Partners Goes Red

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

MDC Partners (NAS: MDCA) reported earnings on Feb. 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), MDC Partners 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 dropped to a loss.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
MDC Partners notched revenue of $254.3 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $235.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 19% higher than the prior-year quarter's $213.4 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 -$1.85. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.03 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$1.97 for Q4 against $0.36 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 28.6%, 510 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -1.8%, 1,230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -22.7%, 2,810 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $243.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.54.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.04 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.80.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 25 members out of 39 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 19 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 14 give MDC Partners 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 MDC Partners is buy, with an average price target of $20.86.

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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