j2 Global Communications (Nasdaq: JCOM) didn't hit the Street's expectations last quarter, but investors hope that it will rebound this quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, Feb. 14. j2 Global Communications provides outsourced, value-added messaging and communications services to individuals and businesses throughout the world. It offers fax, voicemail, email, and call handling services.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts strongly back j2 Global Communications, with four of seven rating it a buy and the remainder rating it a hold. Analysts don't like j2 Global Communications as much as competitor Iridium Communications 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 $85.8 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 20.9% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.60 per share. Estimates range from $0.59-$0.62.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock, with 97.7% granting it an "outperform" rating. The greater community concurs with the All-Stars, as 94.5% give it a rating of "outperform." Fools are impressed with j2 Global Communications and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 134 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of j2 Global Communications, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
j2 Global Communications' profit has risen year-over-year by an average of 52% over the past five quarters.

Now, a look at how efficient management has been at running the business. Margins illustrate how efficiently a company captures portions of sales dollars. j2 Global Communications' gross margins have been decreasing year-over-year for the last four quarters. Gross margins reflect the total sales revenue retained after costs. See how j2 Global Communications has been doing for the last four quarters:

Quarter

Q3

Q2

Q1

Q4

Gross Margin

82.6%

82.3%

78.5%

82.1%

Operating Margin

42.4%

44.3%

31.4%

37.1%

Net Margin

29.6%

33.3%

42.2%

37.8%

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