Cree Beats on EPS but GAAP Results Lag

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Cree (NAS: CREE) reported earnings on Aug. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 24 (Q4), Cree met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Cree reported revenue of $306.8 million. The 30 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $306.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 26% higher than the prior-year quarter's $243.0 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 $0.25. The 31 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.23 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.09 for Q4 were 50% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.18 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 34.8%, 330 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 3.3%, 530 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.3%, 490 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $326.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.27.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.39 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.32.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,117 members out of 1,205 rating the stock outperform, and 88 members rating it underperform. Among 223 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 203 give Cree a green thumbs-up, and 20 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cree is outperform, with an average price target of $34.43.

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The article Cree Beats on EPS but GAAP Results Lag originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jaysonhad 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 positions in the stocks mentioned above. 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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