What happened
Shares of building products company Owens Corning (OC 2.34%) fell as much as 12.5% in early trading after reporting first-quarter earnings that fell short of expectations. Shares recovered slightly as the day went on and were down 8.7% as of 12:30 p.m. EDT.
So what
First-quarter revenue rose 14% to $1.69 billion, topping the $1.62 billion analysts were expecting. But earnings were just $92 million, or $0.82 per share. On an adjusted basis, which pulls out one-time items and is usually comparable to analysts' estimates, earnings were $0.80 per share, well below the average estimate of $0.96.
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Management blamed rising raw material prices for lower than expected margins and said they've raised prices to mitigate the impact of those costs. The impact of those price increases should start showing up next quarter.
Now what
Raw materials can be volatile for any manufacturing company, so I wouldn't be too concerned about one earnings miss on higher costs. I was more impressed with the company's growth rate and the fact that new housing and updates to existing houses are expected to drive growth throughout the year. I think today's drop in share price is a nice buying opportunity for long-term investors willing to wait for the ebb and flow of raw materials prices to work in the company's favor.
