Weatherford International Beats on the Top Line

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Weatherford International (NYS: WFT) reported earnings on March 15. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margin dropped, operating margin expanded, and net margin improved.

Revenue details
Weatherford International tallied revenue of $3.71 billion. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $3.58 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.92 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
EPS came in at -$0.13. The 28 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.33 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.13 for Q4 versus -$0.17 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 24.6%, 260 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.8%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -2.6%, 190 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.67 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.30.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $15.38 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.41.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,040 members out of 1,070 rating the stock outperform, and 30 members rating it underperform. Among 276 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 267 give Weatherford International a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Weatherford International is outperform, with an average price target of $22.00.

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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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