ION Geophysical Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

ION Geophysical (NYS: IO) reported earnings on Feb. 13. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


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

Revenue details
 ION Geophysical logged revenue of $173.1 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $170.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $159.9 million.

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 $0.16. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.13 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.17 for Q4 were 113% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.08 per share.

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 42.0%, 160 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 14.4%, 830 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 15.7%, 800 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $124.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.08.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $597.7 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.50.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 739 members out of 777 rating the stock outperform, and 38 members rating it underperform. Among 185 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 179 give ION Geophysical a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on ION Geophysical is outperform, with an average price target of $8.50.

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The article ION Geophysical Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines originally appeared on Fool.com.

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. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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