New York Times Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

New York Times (NYS: NYT) reported earnings on Feb. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 30 (Q4), New York Times met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins dropped, operating margins shrank, net margins increased.

Revenue details
 New York Times booked revenue of $575.8 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected net sales of $570.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $643.0 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 $0.32. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.31 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.15 for Q4 were 195% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.39 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 61.1%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.6%, 330 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 30.7%, 2,150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $474.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.05.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.97 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.49.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 168 members out of 431 rating the stock outperform, and 263 members rating it underperform. Among 142 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 53 give New York Times a green thumbs-up, and 89 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on New York Times is hold, with an average price target of $9.01.

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The article New York Times Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway 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 position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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