Arch Coal Inc (ACI) Reports Earnings: What Were The Numbers?

Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI) reported earnings on April 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI) whiffed on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped significantly. Non-GAAP loss per share expanded. GAAP earnings per share contracted to a loss.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI) tallied revenue of $825.5 million. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $925.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 21% lower than the prior-year quarter’s $1.04 billion.

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 -$0.34. The 24 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.33 per share. Non-GAAP EPS were -$0.34 for Q1 against -$0.04 per share for the prior-year quarter. GAAP EPS were -$0.33 for Q1 compared to $0.01 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 13.9%, 430 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -3.8%, 900 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -8.5%, 860 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter’s average estimate for revenue is $940.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.31.

Next year’s average estimate for revenue is $3.81 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$1.15.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,473 members out of 1,550 rating the stock outperform, and 77 members rating it underperform. Among 281 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 265 give Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI) a green thumbs-up, and 16 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI) is hold, with an average price target of $7.28.

The article Arch Coal Goes Negative originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Seth Jayson.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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