Williams Partners Whiffs on Revenues

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Williams Partners (NYS: WPZ) reported earnings on Oct. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Williams Partners whiffed on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Williams Partners logged revenue of $1.53 billion. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see sales of $1.89 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.67 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 $0.38. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.57 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.38 for Q3 were 68% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.18 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 28.7%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.8%, 420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 15.5%, 490 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.92 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.59.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $6.84 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.22.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 262 members out of 275 rating the stock outperform, and 13 members rating it underperform. Among 94 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 89 give Williams Partners a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Williams Partners is outperform, with an average price target of $60.58.

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The article Williams Partners Whiffs on Revenues 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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