Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Polypore International (PPO) dropped 15.5% today after the company reported earnings.
So what: Revenue dropped 6% to $152.0 million, coming up well short of the $167.3 million analysts expected. It should be no surprise then that adjusted earnings per share of $0.24 fell well short of the $0.31 per share estimate.
Now what: Management said that consumer electronics orders were weak and EDV volumes declined from a quarter ago. Polypore has lots of growth potential but that's only meaningful if it eventually turns it into actual revenue. Until financial results pick up, I'm going to stay away from the stock. It's too risky to buy a stock on potential alone because if the potential doesn't materialize then investors are left holding the bag.
