Why GrafTech International's Shares Popped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of graphite maker GrafTech International jumped as much as 23% today after reporting earnings.

So what: Revenues dropped 5.5% from a year ago to $303.1 million, but were slightly ahead of estimates. Net income swung from a profit of $29.6 million to a loss of $7.6 million, or $0.06 per share. But on an adjusted basis, which takes out one-time items, earnings per share of $0.04 were $0.02 ahead of estimates.

Now what: Investors had already prepared for a bad quarter, so even the small adjusted profit was good news. Management was also fairly bullish on the U.S. and EU markets improving next year and construction picking up. Despite potential improvements, I don't like the trends we've already seen and lowering the top end of full-year EBTIDA guidance by $10 million to a range of $145 million-$155 million wasn't good news either. I'm not buying the pop and would rather see bottom-line improvement before buying in.

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The article Why GrafTech International's Shares Popped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of GrafTech International Ltd.. 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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