International Paper Earnings: Margins SHRINK as Net Income Falls

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component International Paper Co. (NYSE:IP) reported its results for the second quarter. International Paper is a global paper and packaging company with operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa.

Investing Insights: Is TV the Next Bullish Catalyst for Apple’s Stock?

International Paper Co. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for International Paper Co. fell to $134 million (31 cents per share) vs. $219 million (51 cents per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 38.8% from the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 6.5% to $7.08 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: International Paper Co. fell short of the mean analyst estimate of 47 cents per share. It fell short of the average revenue estimate of $7.31 billion.

Quoting Management: “I’m very encouraged by the speed of the integration efforts related to the Temple-Inland acquisition, as well as the successful start-up of our Franklin, Virginia fluff pulp facility,” said John Faraci, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Despite continued slow growth in North America, uneven global demand and currency headwinds primarily at our Ilim joint venture, we managed to turn in a solid quarter. Looking forward to the third quarter, our strong balanced portfolio is positioned to perform well in this environment.”

Key Stats:

After beating analyst estimates for the two previous quarters, the company fell short of forecasts. In the first quarter, it topped the mark by 6 cents, and in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, it was ahead by 5 cents.

The comapny’s revenue has not increased in each of the last two quarters. In the first quarter, revenue increased 4.2% to $6.66 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly negative about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the third quarter has moved down from 86 cents a share to 82 cents over the last ninety days. The average estimate for the fiscal year is $2.60 per share, down from $2.70 ninety days ago.

Stocks with improving earnings metrics are worthy of your extra attention. In fact, “E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework for this very reason. Don’t waste another minute — click here and get our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now.

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

Don’t Miss These Hot Additional Stories:

Netflix: The GREATEST Head Fake?

Ford Earnings: Revenue TOPS Analyst Estimate, Shares UP>>

Is Cisco Systems Stock a BUY or SELL?