Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Web.com (NASDAQ: WWWW) rose more than 10% this morning -- and are still up around a 9% gain -- after the company surprised the Street with better-than-expected quarterly results and solid guidance for the rest of 2013.
So what: Web.com reported $128.1 million in adjusted revenue and $0.48 in earnings per share, against consensus expectations of $127.7 million on the top line and $0.45 in EPS. The company is also projecting that it will generate between $130 million and $131 million in adjusted revenue, which is in line with the consensus of $130.5 million, and adjusted EPS in the range of $0.48 to $0.49, which slightly exceeds the $0.48 consensus.
Full-year revenue projections of $526 million to $533 million hit Wall Street's $529.6 million consensus in the middle, but full-year EPS projections in the $2.00 to $2.05 range are better than the $1.99 Street consensus. The EPS guidance seems to be a major cause for the pop, as it's the clearest indication of positive momentum out of this report.
Now what: Web.com would be valued at a P/E of 9.7 on an adjusted basis, but it remains unprofitable in GAAP terms. The company's cash flow does remain positive, but its debt load remains extremely high -- it's a full three-quarters the size of Web.com's market cap -- and that could cause big problems down the road if debt terms take a turn for the worse, or if growth happens to stall out.
Want more news and updates? Add Web.com to your watchlist now.
