Aéropostale Beats on the Top Line

Updated

Aéropostale (NYS: ARO) reported earnings on May 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 28 (Q1), Aéropostale beat expectations on revenue and met expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Aéropostale booked revenue of $497.2 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $460.6 million on the same basis. GAAP-reported sales were 6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $469.2 million.

anImage
anImage

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 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.13 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.13 for Q1 were 35% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.20 per share.

anImage
anImage

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 28%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 3.4%, 250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.1%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $489.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.05.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.48 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.28.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 968 members rating the stock outperform and 67 members rating it underperform. Among 277 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 264 give Aéropostale a green thumbs-up, and 13 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Aéropostale is outperform, with an average price target of $20.71.

If you're invested in retailers like Aéropostale, you should check out the concept that is The Motley Fool's top stock for 2012. Its founder wrote the book on big-box retailing, and it's growing in increasingly important international markets. Click here for instant access to this free report.

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. The Motley Fool owns shares of A. 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.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement