Noble Whiffs on Earnings

Noble (NYS: NE) filed its 10-K on Feb. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Noble beat slightly on revenues and whiffed on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share expanded. GAAP earnings per share didn't change.

Gross margins grew, operating margins increased, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Noble tallied revenue of $966.4 million. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for a top line of $954.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 28% higher than the prior-year quarter's $735.7 million.

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 $0.51. The 30 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.62 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.51 for Q4 were 2.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.50 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.50 were the same as 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 47.4%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 23.2%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 13.5%, 380 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.01 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.65.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.42 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.25.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,201 members out of 2,234 rating the stock outperform, and 33 members rating it underperform. Among 520 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 513 give Noble a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Noble is outperform, with an average price target of $47.43.

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The article Noble Whiffs on Earnings 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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