MEMC Electronic Materials Beats Estimates but Has a Big Earnings Drop

Updated

MEMC Electronic Materials (NYS: WFR) reported earnings on Aug. 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), MEMC Electronic Materials crushed expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly and GAAP earnings per share contracted to a loss. The non-GAAP profit was a surprise, as analysts had predicted a loss.


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
MEMC Electronic Materials reported revenue of $933.4 million. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $748.2 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $745.6 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 $0.14. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast -$0.02 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.27 for Q2 versus $0.21 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 13.2%, 990 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.3%, 540 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -7.6%, 1,390 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $642.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.00.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.58 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.34.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,820 members out of 1,894 rating the stock outperform, and 74 members rating it underperform. Among 349 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 330 give MEMC Electronic Materials a green thumbs-up, and 19 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on MEMC Electronic Materials is hold, with an average price target of $4.71.

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The article MEMC Electronic Materials Beats Estimates but Has a Big Earnings Drop 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 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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