Zale Increases Sales but Misses Revenue Estimate

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Zale (NYS: ZLC) reported earnings on Nov. 20. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Oct. 31 (Q1), Zale missed estimates on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins dropped, operating margins were steady, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 Zale tallied revenue of $357.5 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $364.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $351.0 million.

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 -$0.88. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.63 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.88 for Q1 versus -$0.99 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 53.2%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -6.4%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -7.9%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $677.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.99.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.92 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.19.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 109 members out of 268 rating the stock outperform, and 159 members rating it underperform. Among 90 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 23 give Zale a green thumbs-up, and 67 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Zale is buy, with an average price target of $8.38.

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The article Zale Increases Sales but Misses Revenue Estimate 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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