Apollo Group Earnings: Quarter Lacks Gusto

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ:APOL) reported its results for the fourth quarter. Through its subsidiaries, Apollo Group offers innovative and unique educational programs and services both online and on-campus at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.

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Apollo Group Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for Apollo Group Inc. fell to $75.4 million (66 cents per share) vs. $188.6 million ($1.36 per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 60% from the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Fell 11.2% to $996.5 million from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Apollo Group Inc. beat the mean analyst estimate of 49 cents per share. It fell short of the average revenue estimate of $1.12 billion.

Quoting Management: “This past year, we have made great strides in executing on our strategy to differentiate University of Phoenix, diversify Apollo Group, and refine our business processes and delivery structure to be more efficient and effective, while providing a world-class student experience,” said Apollo Group Chief Executive Officer and Apollo Global Chairman Greg Cappelli. “As we build the university of the future, our priority is to connect education to careers for our students, helping them achieve their desired academic and life outcomes.”

Key Stats:

The company has now topped analyst estimates for the last four quarters. It beat the mark by 24 cents in the third quarter, by 19 cents in the second quarter, and by 10 cents in the first quarter.

Revenue has fallen in the past four quarters. Revenue declined 8.5% to $1.13 billion in the third quarter. The figure fell 7.5% in the second quarter from the year earlier and dropped 11.1% in the first quarter from the year-ago quarter.

Looking Forward: Expectations for the first quarter of the next fiscal year have not changed from $1.08. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved up from $3.36 a share to $3.53 over the last thirty days.

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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