Sony Meets on the Top Line, Misses Where it Counts

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Sony (NYS: SNE) reported earnings on Feb. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q3), Sony met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
 Sony reported revenue of $22.52 billion. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $22.54 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 -$0.11. The one earnings estimate compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.72 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.12 for Q3 compared to -$2.06 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 22.3%, 180 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.4%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.6%, 810 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $16.93 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.31.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $71.29 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.13.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,235 members out of 1,723 rating the stock outperform, and 488 members rating it underperform. Among 378 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 236 give Sony a green thumbs-up, and 142 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Sony is outperform, with an average price target of $9.84.

Is Sony playing the right part in the new technology revolution? Computers, mobile devices, and related services are creating huge amounts of valuable data, but only for companies that can crunch the numbers and make sense of it. Meet the leader in this field in "The Only Stock You Need To Profit From the NEW Technology Revolution." Click here for instant access to this free report.

The article Sony Meets on the Top Line, 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 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.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement