ArthroCare Beats on EPS But GAAP Results Lag

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

ArthroCare (NAS: ARTC) reported earnings on May 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), ArthroCare missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped slightly. Non-GAAP earnings per share stayed the same. GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly.


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 ArthroCare reported revenue of $92.3 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see sales of $94.3 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 $0.46. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.37 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.46 were the same as the prior-year quarter. GAAP EPS of $0.30 for Q1 were 17% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.36 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 69.3%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 14.6%, 430 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 12.1%, 190 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $93.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.34.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $379.7 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.42.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 132 members out of 265 rating the stock outperform, and 133 members rating it underperform. Among 91 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 38 give ArthroCare a green thumbs-up, and 53 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on ArthroCare is outperform, with an average price target of $39.50.

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The article ArthroCare Beats on EPS But GAAP Results Lag 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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