National Instruments Misses Where it Counts

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

National Instruments (NAS: NATI) reported earnings on April 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew. Non-GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly. GAAP earnings per share stayed the same.


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 National Instruments logged revenue of $286.5 million. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated net sales of $288.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $261.1 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 $0.21. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.26 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.21 for Q1 were 31% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.16 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.15 were the same as 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 75.5%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.3%, 320 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.5%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $306.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.25.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.23 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.13.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 377 members out of 397 rating the stock outperform, and 20 members rating it underperform. Among 157 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 154 give National Instruments a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on National Instruments is outperform, with an average price target of $34.80.

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The article National Instruments Misses Where it Counts 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 recommends National Instruments. 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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