Superior Energy Services Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines (SPN)

Superior Energy Services Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Superior Energy Services (NYSE: SPN ) reported earnings on Oct. 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Superior Energy Services beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly and GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Superior Energy Services logged revenue of $1.18 billion. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted net sales of $1.15 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $565.3 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.60. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.54 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.59 for Q3 were 19% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.73 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 39.9%, 680 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.2%, 320 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 8.0%, 250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.12 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.51.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.49 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.55.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 838 members out of 850 rating the stock outperform, and 12 members rating it underperform. Among 180 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 176 give Superior Energy Services a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Superior Energy Services is outperform, with an average price target of $28.41.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. 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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