GeoEye Crushes Earnings Estimates

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

GeoEye (NAS: GEOY) reported earnings on March 12. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins dropped, operating margins were steady, and net margins dropped.

Revenue details
GeoEye reported revenue of $96.8 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted net sales of $89.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $82.5 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 $0.76. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.58 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.62 for Q4 were 14% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.72 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 67.2%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 30.1%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 17.4%, 450 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $90.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.55.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $363.9 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.23.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 472 members out of 487 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 142 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 139 give GeoEye a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on GeoEye is outperform, with an average price target of $36.36.

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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. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of GeoEye. 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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