Are You Expecting This From McMoRan Exploration?

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

McMoRan Exploration (NYS: MMR) is expected to report Q2 earnings around July 16. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict McMoRan Exploration's revenues will contract -38.7% and EPS will remain in the red.

The average estimate for revenue is $97.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.10.


Revenue details
Last quarter, McMoRan Exploration tallied revenue of $110.6 million. GAAP reported sales were 19% lower than the prior-year quarter's $137.0 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
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.01. GAAP EPS were -$0.03 for Q1 against -$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.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 65.1%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.5%, 2,590 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.0%, 1,650 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
The full year's average estimate for revenue is $397.0 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.30.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 517 members out of 538 rating the stock outperform, and 21 members rating it underperform. Among 127 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 120 give McMoRan Exploration a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on McMoRan Exploration is outperform, with an average price target of $16.44.

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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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