The Gory Details of Alliance Resource Partners's Earnings Miss

Alliance Resource Partners (Nasdaq: ARLP) reported earnings on Oct. 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Alliance Resource Partners missed estimates on revenues and whiffed on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly.

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Alliance Resource Partners chalked up revenue of $511.4 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $558.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $487.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $1.42. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.78 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.89 for Q3 were 59% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.16 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 32.9%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 17.5%, 550 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.5%, 1,000 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $573.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.76.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.10 billion. The average EPS estimate is $6.85.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 716 members out of 738 rating the stock outperform, and 22 members rating it underperform. Among 200 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 194 give Alliance Resource Partners a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Alliance Resource Partners is outperform, with an average price target of $75.25.

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