Wireless service provider America Movil (NYSE: AMX) is queued up and ready to report its fourth-quarter 2007 earnings. Here's what's due for the company:

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or waffle? A total of 13 analysts take a position on owning ADRs in America Movil. Of these, 12 give the company a buy rating, one says hold and no one braves a sell rating. America Movil also holds a top-notch five-star stock rating in the Motley Fool CAPS community with 1,239 investors giving an opinion on the company.
  • Revenues. On average, analysts see sales increasing 27% to $7.7 billion when compared to the same quarter last year.
  • Earnings. Profits are predicted to rise 32% to $0.74 per share.

What management says:
America Movil has more than 143 million mobile subscribers across Mexico and Latin America and sees no slowdown in growth. In last quarter's earnings announcement, the company stated, "The position we have attained in Latin America and the healthy economic environment we are encountering in the region provide a solid platform for our continued growth in these markets in the years to come."

Although competition in Latin America from other large operators, such as Spain's Telefonica (NYSE: TEF), is stiff, America Movil continues to add subscribers in most markets quarter after quarter. The company's TracFone subsidiary in the U.S. has even been successful at capturing 8.8 million subscribers in a crowded market dominated by AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon Wireless -- joint venture between Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) -- and Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S).

What management does:
America Movil has seen net margins dip recently as it speeds up the retirement of outdated networks based on TDMA technology. That depreciation did take a bite out of the bottom line last quarter, but otherwise the margin trends look superb.

Margins %

6/06

9/06

12/06

3/07

6/07

9/07

Gross

52.6%

53.4%

53.3%

53.9%

55.3%

56.3%

Operating

22.4%

23.1%

25.1%

27.0%

27.3%

28.0%

Net

18.6%

21.4%

18.3%

19.4%

19.5%

18.1%

Data courtesy of Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Data reflects trailing-12-month performance for the quarters ended in the named months.

One Fool says:
America Movil's subsidiary in Ecuador, Porta Celular, ran into trouble with regulators late last year when the network experienced service outages for several hours. The government threatened to terminate Porta's license, but America Movil has since notified investors that the regulator will not be taking steps to terminate the license early.

With 6.6 million subscribers in Ecuador and revenues growing at greater than 20% year over year, it's important for the company to correct the problems there quickly. Problems like that one do arise now and again, but America Movil's diversification across a number of high-growth markets should keep it moving right along its current path of amazing growth.

More Foolish mobile musings: