After the bell tolls on Thursday, radio frequency semiconductor and systems supplier RF Micro
What analysts say:
- Buy, sell, or waffle? A full 21 analysts follow RF Micro. Of these, 13 say buy and eight say hold. RF Micro also holds a three-star stock rating (out of five possible stars), with 291 players in the Motley Fool CAPS community giving an opinion.
- Revenues. On average, analysts predict quarterly sales to be little more than $268 million -- around the $268 million the company guided to just three weeks ago.
- Earnings. Profits are expected to drop 56% to $0.07 per share.
What management says:
RF Micro already gave investors an earful with its reduced sales outlook for the coming quarter. Citing reduced demand from Asian customers late in the quarter, the company dropped revenue expectations to the low end of the $265 million to $280 million range given last quarter. The company also blamed its "high concentration of top-tier customers that utilize inventory hubs" for the shortfall that also hit earnings.
But other players have not echoed RF Micro's problems. Qualcomm
What management does:
One-time tax benefits from last year have skewed the margins picture for RF Micro somewhat, leaving the impression that net margins are steadily rising, when they have in fact declined throughout 2007.
6/06 |
9/06 |
12/06 |
3/07 |
6/07 |
9/07 |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gross |
34.7% |
34.5% |
34.5% |
34.9% |
34.5% |
33.8% |
Operating |
4.2% |
4.8% |
5.8% |
7.9% |
6.5% |
6.1% |
Net |
3.9% |
0.8% |
5.2% |
8.1% |
9.3% |
12.7% |
One Fool says:
RF Micro's recent issues aren't confirmed across the entire industry, so it's likely that the chip maker's customer mix and timing just didn't play in its favor this time around. Even though RF Micro has a broad customer base that includes Samsung, Ericsson
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