The Gory Details on Encore Wire's Double Fumble

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Encore Wire (NAS: WIRE) reported earnings on Feb. 20. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Encore Wire missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded. GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly.


Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 Encore Wire reported revenue of $258.0 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $279.5 million 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 $0.25. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.27 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.25 for Q4 were 64% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.69 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 8.7%, 690 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.9%, 710 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.0%, 460 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $293.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.38.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.16 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.77.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 324 members out of 350 rating the stock outperform, and 26 members rating it underperform. Among 87 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 83 give Encore Wire a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Encore Wire is outperform, with an average price target of $36.00.

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The article The Gory Details on Encore Wire's Double Fumble 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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