Vale Goes Red

Vale (NYS: VALE) reported earnings on Feb. 28. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly. GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Vale chalked up revenue of $11.72 billion. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for sales of $11.45 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% higher than the prior-year quarter's $14.56 billion.

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 $0.38. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.43 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.38 for Q4 were 59% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.93 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.33 for Q4 compared to $0.86 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 38.8%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.6%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -13.2%, much worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $11.61 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.60.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $49.35 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.24.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 6,399 members out of 6,567 rating the stock outperform, and 168 members rating it underperform. Among 1,131 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,091 give Vale a green thumbs-up, and 40 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Vale is outperform, with an average price target of $22.26.

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The article Vale Goes Red 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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