Cabot Increases Sales but Misses Revenue Estimate

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Cabot (NYS: CBT) reported earnings on July 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended June 30 (Q3), Cabot missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 Cabot notched revenue of $903.0 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $931.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 6.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $846.0 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures are normalized by S&P Capital IQ and may vary to maintain comparability with normalized estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.84. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.91 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.84 for Q3 were 16% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.00 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.06 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.) GAAP EPS of $0.90 for Q3 were 12% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.02 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.06 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures are normalized by S&P Capital IQ and may vary to maintain comparability with normalized estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 19.6%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.5%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.5%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $895.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.81.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.48 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.00.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 82 members out of 90 rating the stock outperform, and eight members rating it underperform. Among 35 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 34 give Cabot a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cabot is outperform, with an average price target of $45.50.

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The article Cabot Increases Sales but Misses Revenue Estimate 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. 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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