MetroPCS Communications Meets on Revenue, Misses on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

MetroPCS Communications (NYS: PCS) reported earnings on April 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), MetroPCS Communications met expectations on revenue and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
MetroPCS Communications logged revenue of $1.28 billion. The 25 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $1.29 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 6.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.19 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 $0.06. The 25 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.18 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.06 for Q1 were 60% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.15 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 33.6%, 350 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.8%, 440 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.6%, 310 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.31 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.25.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.26 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.88.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 441 members out of 476 rating the stock outperform, and 35 members rating it underperform. Among 88 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 75 give MetroPCS Communications a green thumbs-up, and 13 give it a red thumbs-down.

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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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