Cabot Microelectronics Earnings Preview

Investors never know what to expect from Cabot Microelectronics (Nasdaq: CCMP  ) , as it has wavered between topping and missing analysts estimates during the past fiscal year. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, Oct. 27. Cabot Microelectronics is a supplier of high-performance polishing slurries used in the manufacture of advanced integrated circuit devices within the semiconductor industry, in a process called chemical mechanical planarization.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Cabot Microelectronics with three of four analysts rating it hold. Analysts like Cabot Microelectronics better than competitor Tessera Technologies overall. Zero out of two analysts rate Tessera Technologies a buy compared to one of four for Cabot Microelectronics.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $110.3 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 0% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.56 per share. Estimates range from $0.49 to $0.62.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 92.9% granting it an "outperform" rating. The community at large agrees with the All-Stars with 89.7% assigning it a rating of "outperform." Fools have embraced Cabot Microelectronics, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 24 posts in the past 30 days. The bullish CAPS rating of five out of five stars for Cabot Microelectronics outpaces Fool enthusiasm for the company.

Management:
Cabot Microelectronics' profit has risen year over year by an average of 24.4% over the past five quarters.

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. 

Quarter	Q3	Q2	Q1	Q4
Gross Margin	47.4%	48.1%	50.3%	48.7%
Operating Margin	17.6%	17.7%	21.4%	19.1%
Net Margin	11.4%	11.9%	14.4%	13.9%

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