Frontier Communications Hits Estimates, But GAAP Results Lag Last Year's

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Frontier Communications (NAS: FTR) reported earnings on Feb. 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Frontier Communications met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped. Non-GAAP earnings per share dropped. GAAP earnings per share contracted.


Gross margins expanded, operating margins contracted, net margins shrank.

Revenue details
 Frontier Communications logged revenue of $1.23 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $1.24 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 $0.06. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.06 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.06 for Q4 were 14% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.07 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.03 for Q4 were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.04 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 91.2%, 160 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.2%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.0%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.22 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.07.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.82 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.27.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 965 members out of 1,074 rating the stock outperform, and 109 members rating it underperform. Among 214 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 190 give Frontier Communications a green thumbs-up, and 24 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Frontier Communications is hold, with an average price target of $5.18.

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The article Frontier Communications Hits Estimates, But GAAP Results Lag Last Year's originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson owned shares of the following at the time of publication: Frontier Communications. 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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