Why Level 3 Shares Plunged

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 Level 3 Communications (NYS: LVLT) plunged today by as much as 10% after the company reported third-quarter earnings.

So what: Revenue came in at $1.6 billion, which was right on target. Unfortunately, Level 3 posted a worse-than-expected loss of $0.26 per share, while analysts were looking for just $0.20 per share in red ink. On the bright side, adjusted EBITDA increased 12% to $372 million.

Now what: While the net loss was worse than expected, it was still a sequential improvement from the second quarter, when the company lost $0.29 per share. CEO James Crowe said enterprise demand remains strong and Latin America contributed to healthy growth in its core network services business. Level 3 is reiterating its guidance, expecting core network services sales to grow in the fourth quarter.

Interested in more info on Level 3? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

The article Why Level 3 Shares Plunged originally appeared on Fool.com.

Evan Niu, CFA, has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. 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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