There are some real Catch-22s in the investing world. Take the case of quarterly reporting. On the one hand, I like getting updates on the state of a given company every few months. On the other hand, you have to make allowances for companies because quarter-by-quarter performance isn't always a fair portrayal.

Such would seem to be the case for Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick Embraer (NYSE:ERJ). The macro trends for this Brazilian manufacturer of small- to mid-sized passenger jets are still fine. The favorable economics for many airlines to use smaller jets are still in place, the company continues to look to expand into the business market, and so on. But this quarter wasn't really an affirmation of any of that.

First-quarter sales were up 6%, but deliveries were down on both a sequential and annual basis. Margins were once again hurt by the combination of adverse currency moves and the inefficiencies of new model production. That, coupled with higher marketing and development expenses, led to a pretty considerable drop in operating and net income.

Along with a pretty steep correction in some emerging markets like Brazil, this all makes for trying times in the short term. But as always, I think this is a situation where the short term should be kept in context. There's still a big US Airways (NYSE:LCC) order to fill and the general expectation that others like Northwest will be placing orders as well.

And while the company's new Lineage 1000 business jet won't be available for a couple of years, I continue to think that Embraer has a good chance to elbow its way into the markets of Gulfstream (General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)), Cessna (Textron (NYSE:TXT)), Falcon (Dassault), and Lear (Bombardier). After all, management is hoping to boost its business jet revenue to about 20% of total revenue in the next five to 10 years.

I've been lukewarm on this stock for a little while, but I'm getting increasingly curious. Embraer isn't looking at quite the same sort of cycle as larger rivals Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Airbus, but I think there's still money to be made on a story that's more than just a wing and a prayer.

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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).