Six Flags Entertainment Beats on the Top Line

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Six Flags Entertainment (NYS: SIX) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Six Flags Entertainment beat expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Six Flags Entertainment reported revenue of $66.4 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $62.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $61.3 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 -$2.11. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$1.36 per share. GAAP EPS were -$2.11 for Q1 versus -$2.67 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%, 800 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -159.2%, 1,890 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -173.5%, 6,860 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $350.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.36.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.06 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.58.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 28 members rating the stock outperform and nine members rating it underperform. Among nine CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), seven give Six Flags Entertainment a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Six Flags Entertainment is outperform, with an average price target of $54.44.

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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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