The Gory Details on Altera's Double Miss

Altera (NAS: ALTR) reported earnings on Jan. 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Altera missed estimates 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 shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Altera logged revenue of $439.4 million. The 28 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $450.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $457.8 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 $0.37. The 26 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.39 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.37 for Q4 were 18% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.45 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 69.7%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 31.4%, 360 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 27.5%, 450 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $462.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.39.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.97 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.75.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 335 members out of 365 rating the stock outperform, and 30 members rating it underperform. Among 107 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 102 give Altera 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 Altera is outperform, with an average price target of $35.09.

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The article The Gory Details on Altera's Double Miss 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. TMFDisclosureHere

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