A Ubiquiti Networks airFiber dish operating in the wilds of Homer, AK. Image source: Ubiquiti Networks.
Shares of Ubiquiti Networks (UI -0.86%) closed Friday down 1.3% as a miss on the revenue line dampened enthusiasm for a solid earnings beat in the earnings report released Thursday after market close. Here's a closer look at the fiscal Q4 totals versus Wall Street's projections:
| UBNT | Revenue | Year-Over-Year Growth | Earnings Per Share | Year-Over-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consensus estimate | $145.73 million | (6.6%) | $0.45 | (19.6%) |
| Q4 actual | $145.27 million | (6.9%) | $0.50 | (10.7%) |
| DIFFERENCE | ($0.46 million) | (0.3%) | $0.05 | 8.9% |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Ubiquiti Networks press release.
For fiscal 2015, Ubiquiti reported $595.95 million in revenue, resulting in $1.97 a share in profits. Analysts had been calling for $596.35 million and $1.93 a share, respectively.
S&P Capital IQ provided the following prepared comments from Ubiquiti Networks founder and CEO Robert Pera during yesterday's conference call with analysts:
The biggest strength of Ubiquiti is the unique business model and the unique community. We have 30 million-plus Internet connections deployed around the world, that's a lot of rooftops. We have tens of thousands of independent operators around the world, I think it's probably the largest independent service provider company of its kind ... Up to now, they've been deploying Internet. So our vision is for them to become service providers and provide many different services. Internet could be one, solar could be one, there might be others. And that's going to be a big part of our vision over the next couple of years.
What went right: Pera realizes he needs to give investors something as they wait for new enterprise products to take hold on a wider scale. To that end, on Aug. 6, Ubiquiti announced plans to repurchase up to $100 million worth of stock. Combining that news with the Q4 earnings beat seems to have kept the stock from sliding too far in today's trading.
What went wrong: Revenue fell short of estimates for the second consecutive quarter. The good news? Revenue from enterprise clients grew faster than revenue from wireless service providers fell. (Up 26.6% versus down 15.5%.) Gross profit also improved from 44.1% in last year's Q4 to 45.5% over the past three months as lucrative enterprise sales contributed to a larger portion of revenue.
What's next: Looking ahead to fiscal Q1, Ubiquiti forecast revenue between $145 million and $155 million and $0.47 to $0.52 in earnings per share after accounting for stock-based compensation and other noncash items.
Analysts tracked by S&P Capital IQ have the company generating $150.38 million in revenue and $0.48 a share in adjusted profit. That compares with $150.09 million and $0.48 a share, respectively, in last year's first quarter.
Longer term, analysts have Ubiquiti Networks growing earnings by an average of 10% annually over the next three to five years.
In the meantime, investors should watch for announcements coming out of a planned conference called Ubiquiti NEXT on Oct. 12 in Las Vegas. Also, be on the lookout for the 10-K annual report. You can find a comprehensive list of Ubiquiti's SEC filings here.
