Guess? (NYSE: GES) will try to beat its earnings estimates for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday. Guess? designs, markets, distributes, and licenses a collection of contemporary apparel and accessories.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Half of analysts think investors should stand pat on Guess? while the remaining half rate the stock as a buy half of analysts think investors should stand pat on Guess?. Analysts like Guess? better than competitor Liz Claiborne overall. One out of four analysts rate Liz Claiborne a buy compared to five of 10 for Guess?. Wall Street has warmed to the stock over the past three months, with analysts increasing their endorsement from hold to moderate buy.
  • Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $655.2 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 6.7% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.74 per share. Estimates range from $0.70 to $0.76.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 93.2% granting it an outperform rating. The community at large backs the All-Stars with 91% awarding it a rating of outperform. Fools are keen on Guess? and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 249 posts in the past 30 days. Even with a robust four out of five stars, Guess'? CAPS rating falls a little short of the community's upbeat outlook.

Management:
Revenue has now gone up for three straight 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

Q2

Q1

Q4

Q3

Gross Margin

44.3%

42.1%

44.4%

43.4%

Operating Margin

13.8%

12.0%

19.1%

15.1%

Net Margin

9.0%

7.2%

13.7%

11.3%

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Earnings estimates provided by Zacks