Arch Coal Whiffs on Revenues

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Arch Coal (NYS: ACI) reported earnings on July 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Arch Coal whiffed on revenues and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.

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


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

Revenue details
 Arch Coal tallied revenue of $766.3 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated a top line of $919.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 28% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.06 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 -$0.29. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.33 per share. Non-GAAP EPS were -$0.29 for Q2 against -$0.10 per share for the prior-year quarter. GAAP EPS were -$0.34 for Q2 compared to -$2.05 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 14.4%, 270 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -2.1%, 700 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -9.4%, much better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $913.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.34.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.47 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$1.32.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,472 members out of 1,547 rating the stock outperform, and 75 members rating it underperform. Among 279 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 264 give Arch Coal a green thumbs-up, and 15 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Arch Coal is hold, with an average price target of $5.98.

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The article Arch Coal Whiffs on Revenues 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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