EchoStar Goes Red

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

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

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

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

Gross margins increased, operating margins contracted, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
EchoStar chalked up revenue of $834.0 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $891.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 63% higher than the prior-year quarter's $513.2 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
EPS came in at -$0.15. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.19 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.15 for Q4 compared to $1.98 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 27.6%, 1,080 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.2%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -1.5%, 3,440 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $907.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.15.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.74 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.51.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 151 members out of 158 rating the stock outperform, and seven members rating it underperform. Among 61 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 60 give EchoStar a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on EchoStar is buy, with an average price target of $43.00.

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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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