It's Showtime for L-3 Communications Holdings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

L-3 Communications Holdings (NYS: LLL) is expected to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 30. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict L-3 Communications Holdings's revenues will shrink -14.2% and EPS will drop -16.5%.

The average estimate for revenue is $3.25 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.87.


Revenue details
 Last quarter, L-3 Communications Holdings booked revenue of $3.14 billion. GAAP reported sales were 5.5% lower than the prior-year quarter's $3.77 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.92. GAAP EPS of $2.08 for Q2 were 8.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.26 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 10.5%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.5%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.8%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $13.05 billion. The average EPS estimate is $7.83.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 897 members out of 933 rating the stock outperform, and 36 members rating it underperform. Among 224 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 215 give L-3 Communications Holdings a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on L-3 Communications Holdings is hold, with an average price target of $76.58.

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The article It's Showtime for L-3 Communications Holdings 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 owns shares of L-3 Communications Holdings. 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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