FTI Consulting Misses Where It Counts

FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN  ) reported earnings on May 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), FTI Consulting met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
FTI Consulting notched revenue of $395.2 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $396.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $361.8 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 $0.43. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.61 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.43 for Q1 were 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.48 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 37.9%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.5%, 330 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.7%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $414.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.69.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.65 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.76.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 290 members out of 303 rating the stock outperform, and 13 members rating it underperform. Among 75 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 71 give FTI Consulting a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on FTI Consulting is outperform, with an average price target of $45.56.

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