For the quarter ended March 2024, Compass Minerals (CMP) reported revenue of $364 million, down 11.5% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.49, compared to -$0.46 in the year-ago quarter.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of -7.32% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $392.74 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.23, the EPS surprise was +547.83%.
While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.
As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.
Here is how Compass performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
- Average Sales Price per ton - Plant Nutrition: $680.24 versus the three-analyst average estimate of $637.94.
- Sales volumes - Plant Nutrition: 74 KTon versus the three-analyst average estimate of 75 KTon.
- Average Sales Price per ton - Total Salt: $89.55 versus the three-analyst average estimate of $85.58.
- Sales volumes - Total Salt - Consumer and Industrial: 421 KTon versus the three-analyst average estimate of 491 KTon.
- Average Sales Price per ton - Consumer and Industrial: $196.93 versus the three-analyst average estimate of $186.26.
- Sales volumes - Total Salt: 3,466 KTon compared to the 4,000.78 KTon average estimate based on three analysts.
- Sales volumes - Total Salt - Highway Deicing: 3,045 KTon versus 3,643.12 KTon estimated by three analysts on average.
- Average Sales Price per ton - Highway Deicing: $74.72 compared to the $72 average estimate based on three analysts.
- Sales to external customers- Salt: $310.40 million compared to the $344.18 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -13.9% year over year.
- Sales to external customers- Plant Nutrition: $50.10 million compared to the $47.87 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +5% year over year.
- Sales to external customers- Corporate & Other: $3.50 million compared to the $3.30 million average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of +20.7% year over year.
- Operating earnings- Plant Nutrition: -$53.40 million compared to the -$3.44 million average estimate based on three analysts.
Shares of Compass have returned -5.4% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -0.4% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.
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