Bridgepoint Beats Expectations, but Wall Street's Not Happy? (BPI)

Bridgepoint Beats Expectations, but Wall Street's Not Happy?

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Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI ) dropped more than 3% on the opening bell Tuesday yet closed out almost 1% up at $10.25. How? Well, Wall Street seemed bearish after the company missed revenue expectations but decided that beating earnings were still earnings.

In Q4, Bridgepoint brought in $0.29, a cent better than analyst estimates for the same period in 2011. Net income saw a comparable decrease from $22.9 million to $16.0 million, a decrease of 30.1%. Revenue decreased 5.4% to $209.4 million; analysts estimated $217.6 million for the year. Total student enrollment followed net income with a 31.4% decrease to 9,260 new students.

For all of 2012, Bridgepoint missed estimates of $2.40. The company took in only $2.29 in earnings per share. Net income decreased 25.9% to $128.0 million from $172.8 million in 2011. However, revenue did increase 3.7% from 2011 to $968.2 million. Total student enrollment was ultimately down 5.6% to 81,810 from 2011.

Looking forward, analysts expect Bridgepoint to bring in $0.52 for the next quarter, and $1.49 for 2013.

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