Earnings Preview: Alcatel Lucent
Alcatel Lucent (NYSE:ALU - News) is scheduled to report its fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 results on Friday February 10, 2012. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is 12 cents a share. For the quarter under review, revenue is $5.8 billion, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Third-Quarter 2011, a Synopsis
Alcatel Lucent released its third quarter 2011 earnings results, reporting earnings per share from continuing operations of 10 cents, which was above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Earnings were up from 2 cents in the prior year quarter. This was the sixth consecutive quarter in which the company witnessed double-digit growth in earnings.
Total revenue for the quarter decreased 6.8% year-over-year at €3.8 billion. At constant currency exchange rates, revenue decreased 0.7% year-over-year and decreased 3.8% sequentially.
Fourth-Quarter 2011 Zacks Consensus
The analysts considered by Zacks, expect Alcatel Lucent to post fourth-quarter 2011 earnings of 12 cents a share. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate reflects a decrease of 38.6% from the prior-year quarter’s earnings. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter ranges between 16 cents and 8 cents.
Zacks Agreement & Magnitude
Among the analysts following the stock, none have raised estimate projections in the last 7 and 30 days, therefore, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is stagnant at 12 cents. However, in the last 7 and 30 days, one and two of the analysts respectively lowered their projections, keeping the Zacks Consensus Estimate unchanged.
The analysts expect Alcatel to report weak fourth quarter results primarily due strong foreign exchange headwinds. The analysts are also concerned about the continuing weakness in Europe and the capital expenditures in the North American region are also expected to be weak.
Mixed Earnings Surprise History
With respect to earnings surprises, Alcatel Lucent has topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate over the last four quarters in the range of 25.0% to 175%. The average remained at positive 80.3%. This suggests that Alcatel has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 80.3% in the trailing four quarters.
Zacks Rank
On a long term basis we maintain a Neutral rating on the company and Alcatel has a Zacks Rank #3 which also implies a short-term Hold on the stock.
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