Bridgepoint Beats Expectations, but Wall Street's Not Happy?

Bridgepoint Education dropped more than 3% on the opening bell Tuesday yet closed out almost 1% up at $10.25. How? Well, Wall Street seemed bearish after the company missed revenue expectations but decided that beating earnings were still earnings.

In Q4, Bridgepoint brought in $0.29, a cent better than analyst estimates for the same period in 2011. Net income saw a comparable decrease from $22.9 million to $16.0 million, a decrease of 30.1%. Revenue decreased 5.4% to $209.4 million; analysts estimated $217.6 million for the year. Total student enrollment followed net income with a 31.4% decrease to 9,260 new students.

For all of 2012, Bridgepoint missed estimates of $2.40. The company took in only $2.29 in earnings per share. Net income decreased 25.9% to $128.0 million from $172.8 million in 2011. However, revenue did increase 3.7% from 2011 to $968.2 million. Total student enrollment was ultimately down 5.6% to 81,810 from 2011.

Looking forward, analysts expect Bridgepoint to bring in $0.52 for the next quarter, and $1.49 for 2013.

The article Bridgepoint Beats Expectations, but Wall Street's Not Happy? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Kevin Chen has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Bridgepoint Education. 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.

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