Calgon Carbon Earnings Preview

Calgon Carbon (NYSE: CCC  ) came in under analyst's estimates last quarter, but now have a chance to fix things this quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, August 2. Calgon Carbon is globally engaged in services, products, and solutions for purifying water and air.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts strongly back Calgon Carbon, with six of 11 rating it a buy and the remainder rating it a hold. Analysts like Calgon Carbon better than competitor Arch Chemicals overall. While analysts still rate the stock a moderate buy, they are a little more optimistic about it compared to three months ago.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $139.5 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 12.9% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.21 per share. Estimates range from $0.17 to $0.25.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 93.4% awarding it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All-Stars with 94.4% assigning it a rating of "outperform." Even with a robust four out of five stars, Calgon Carbon's CAPS rating falls a little short of the community's upbeat outlook.

Management:
Calgon Carbon's income has fallen year over year by an average of 23.7%. The company's gross margin shrank by 2.8 percentage points in the last quarter. Revenue rose 20.8% while cost of sales rose 26.1% to $83 million from a year earlier.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters. 

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