NetApp Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway

Updated

NetApp (NAS: NTAP) reported earnings on Aug. 15. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended July 27 (Q1), NetApp met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
NetApp booked revenue of $1.44 billion. The 32 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $1.46 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 0.9% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.46 billion.

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 $0.42. The 32 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.38 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.17 for Q1 were 50% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.34 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 58.8%, 270 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.6%, 660 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.4%, 520 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.54 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.47.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $6.37 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.04.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 570 members out of 644 rating the stock outperform, and 74 members rating it underperform. Among 146 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 130 give NetApp a green thumbs-up, and 16 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on NetApp is outperform, with an average price target of $35.16.

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The article NetApp Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway 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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