Why Level 3 Shares Got Crushed

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Level 3 got crushed today, down by 15% at the low, after the company reported earnings.

So what: Revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $1.61 billion, a slight increase both sequentially and year over year. The company generated a net loss of $0.16 per share, not including the $0.23-per-share cost associated with extinguishing debt or the gain of $0.13 per share related to one-time items.

Now what: CEO James Crowe said the company has improved its balance sheet over the past year, with more than $4.5 billion of capital markets transactions. However, it still has a large debt load, with $8.5 billion in long-term debt. The company expects first-quarter sales in its core network services to decline slightly on a sequential basis because of seasonal trends.

Interested in more info on Level 3? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

To learn about two retailers with especially good prospects, we invite you to take a look at The Motley Fool's special free report: "The Death of Wal-Mart: The Real Cash Kings Changing the Face of Retail." In it, you'll see how these two cash kings are able to consistently outperform and how they're planning to ride the waves of retail's changing tide. You can access it by clicking here.

The article Why Level 3 Shares Got Crushed originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't 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.