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 vinyl products maker Axiall (NYSE: AXLL) dropped 16% today after reporting earnings.
So what: Sales were up 23% to $1.06 billion, driven by the January chlorine asset acquisition from PPG Industries. The problem is that analysts were expecting $1.13 billion in revenue. Even worse, adjusted earnings per share fell to $0.75, which was way below the $1.18 Wall Street expected.
Now what: Margins were significantly lower than expected, likely because of ethylene prices, which is why the earnings number was so low. Analysts were expecting even higher earnings of $1.50 in the second quarter, so this puts that level of profitability into question. I don't see any strong catalyst higher for Axiall and certainly wouldn't be a buyer after very disappointing quarter.
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