Why IHS's Shares Dropped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of information provider IHS (NYS: IHS) fell as much as 19% today after the company announced a disappointing earnings report.

So what: Revenue rose 14% to $385.6 million in the fiscal third quarter, but it was well below estimates of $406.4 million from analysts. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.99, $0.02 short of estimates, and the company cut full-year guidance to $3.77, from $3.89 per share.

Now what: A 5% decline in non-subscription organic revenue is of concern to the company, as customers cut back on costs where they can. With that decline and slow organic growth overall, it's hard to see a reason to pay at least 24.5 times this year's earnings unless organic revenue picks up in both subscription and non-subscription businesses. I'm sitting out this move, and would wait for more improvement in operations before jumping on this stock.

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The article Why IHS's Shares Dropped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings, or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.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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