Venoco Beats Expectations but Takes a Step Back Anyway

Venoco (NYSE: VQ  ) filed its 10-K on Feb. 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Venoco missed slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly and GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.
Margins grew across the board.
Revenue details
Venoco recorded revenue of $83.4 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $84.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 16% higher than the prior-year quarter's $72.1 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.35. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.11 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.50 for Q4 were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.07 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 68.0%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 46.9%, 6,080 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 36.5%, 3,030 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.
Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $99.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.10.
Next year's average es! timate f or revenue is $432.8 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.08.
Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 133 members out of 152 rating the stock outperform, and 19 members rating it underperform. Among 51 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 47 give Venoco 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 Venoco is hold, with an average price target of $12.93.
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Get Used To Positive Surprises Ahead For U.S. Economy

In 2008 it seemed a sure thing that the economy would wind up in the next Great Depression.
Look at all that was happening with the bursting of the real estate bubble, collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market, freeze-up of the banking system, ravages of the Great Recession, collapse of the auto industry, bailout of mortgage-insurance giant AIG and the bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler.
It was then a sure thing that the massive stimulus and bailout efforts would not work, and the costs would bankrupt the country and drop it into third-world economy status.
There was no chance that the banks or the U.S. auto industry would ever pay back the bailout loans. The assets the Federal Reserve was also putting on its books to help the banks clean up their balance sheets, by exchanging Treasury bonds for some of the toxic assets on the books of banks, was just further money down the drain.
The way the banks seemed to be using the bailout loans to expand, buying out competitors, expanding into Asia, rather than using it to make loans, was going to make the ��too big to fail�� problem even worse for the future.
Even since the recovery began, it has been derided as just an illusion, as could be seen by the housing industry still being mired in depression-like conditions, and no progress being made in the terribly high unemployment situation.
Sometimes it seems we��re so focused on the negatives that we haven’t noticed the unexpected positive surprises in the recovery
For instance, how many realize that most of the government loans made to the banks and auto industry have already been paid back, with interest.
Or that the U.S. auto industry has bounced back dramatically. Global auto sales recovered sharply in 2011 and the U.S. led the way, with sales up 9.2%, topping even the 6% auto sales growth in China.
Yesterday it was reported that General Motors has bounced back from its bankruptcy ! three ye ars ago to a degree that it has regained its crown as the top-selling car-maker in the world.

Thursday’s ETF To Watch: Telecom ETF (VOX)

As we dive further into earnings season, investors will do their best to focus on relatively strong U.S. data, as opposed to decisions by the Fed, the Greek debt crisis, and other factors hindering the recovery. On Tuesday, investors saw Apple (AAPL) crush market estimates with their quarterly earnings. The shares soared the most in three years as iPhone and iPad sales doubled that of last year’s holiday season. What’s more, Apple has now narrowly taken over Exxon Mobil (XOM) for the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization. While it is unclear how long the firm will remain in first place, Apple’s rally is certainly helping to prop up markets amid investor concerns [see also The Ten Commandments of Commodity Investing].
Today will follow suit with more bellwether earnings as AT&T (T) will be releasing their most recent quarter’s results. The telecom giant will look to make a statement as its largest competitor, Verizon Wireless, missed analyst estimates on Tuesday and saw its share price tumble. Investors will be especially curious to see how AT&T’s quarter turned out given the news that Apple sold a record number of iPhones last quarter. Though AT&T is no longer the exclusive iPhone provider, this will still account for a good chunk of their revenues and it could mean a strong quarter for the firm [see also How To Invest Like UBS In 2012 (Using Only ETFs)].
Analysts are calling for EPS of $0.43 with revenues just below the $32 billion mark. If all figures are met, this will represent a 1.5% growth in sales for all of 2011 with total revenues eclipsing the $125 billion line. Investors will note that T has either met or surpassed its last four earnings estimates, which bodes well for a good report today. The firm will report before market open so look for the stock to gap at opening depending on which way the report goes.

With this major announcement on tap, to! day̵ 7;s ETF to watch will be the?Telecom ETF (VOX) from Vanguard. This fund seeks to replicate a benchmark that?consists of stocks of large, medium, and small U.S. companies in the telecommunication services sector. Top holdings include none other than AT&T (22.9%), along with Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and a number of other household names. This fund has been relatively flat over the past year, but with a dividend yield of 3.2%, that may be just fine for those utilizing this ETF for its income stream. As far as today’s trading is concerned, VOX will rely heavily on AT&T’s earnings and will likely move in line with the announcement [see also Three ETFs For Smart Phone Exposure].
[For more ETF analysis, make sure to sign up for our free ETF newsletter or try a free seven day trial to ETFdb Pro]

US Airways Group Inc. Fourth Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE:LCC) will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. US Airways Group is a holding company that operates a major network air carrier through its wholly owned subsidiaries US Airways, Piedmont, PSA, MSC, and Airways Assurance Limited.
US Airways Group, Inc. Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet.
Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for a loss of 2 cents per share, a swing from profit of 17 cents in the year earlier quarter. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved up from a loss of 30 cents. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved up. It has risen from a loss of 21 cents during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 76.1% versus last year to 56 cents.
Past Earnings Performance: The company topped estimates last quarter after missing forecasts the quarter prior. In the third quarter, it reported net income of 50 cents per share against a mean estimate of profit of 47 cents per share. In the second quarter, it missed forecasts by 3 cents.
Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $3.14 billion in revenue this quarter, a rise of 7.9% from the year ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $13.04 billion for the year, a rise of 9.5% from last year’s revenue of $11.91 billion.
Analyst Ratings: Analysts are bullish on this stock with seven analysts rating it as a buy, none rating it as a sell and three rating it as a hold.
A Look Back: In the third quarter, profit fell 68.3% to $76 million (41 cents a share) from $240 million ($1.22 a share) the year earlier, but exceeded analyst expectations. Revenue rose 8.1% to $3.44 billion from $3.18 billion.
Key Stats:
Revenue has risen the past four quarters. Revenue rose 10.5% in the second quarter from the year earlier, climbed 11.7% in the ! first qu arter from the year-ago quarter and 10.7% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.
Competitors to Watch: Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL), AMR Corporation (NYSE:AMR), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV), JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ:JBLU), Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK), United Continental Hldgs., Inc. (NYSE:UAL), Republic Airways Hldgs. Inc. (NASDAQ:RJET), AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI), Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA), and Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ:PNCL).
Stock Price Performance: During November 18, 2011 to January 19, 2012, the stock price had risen $1.84 (41.6%) from $4.42 to $6.26. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between November 23, 2011 and December 1, 2011 when shares rose for six-straight days, rising 23.5% (+94 cents) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between July 7, 2011 and July 20, 2011 when shares fell for 10-straight days, falling 17.8% (-$1.49) over that span.

Amazon's 2011: A Blueprint for the Next Decade of Growth

The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which Eric Bleeker, senior technology analyst, discusses topics around the investing world.
In this edition, Eric continues his review of how major tech companies performed in 2011. One company that had no shortage of storylines across the year was Amazon.com, which not only continued seeing strong growth and expansion of its e-commerce strength and cloud-computing momentum, but also took the wraps off its foray into the tablet market: the Kindle Fire.
What's interesting about Amazon is that the company saw earnings falling throughout 2011 despite huge sales increases. That's in large part because the company has been willing to aggressively price its Kindle e-readers and later Kindle Fire tablet to establish itself as a digital leader in addition to the leading online storefront. With Amazon now moving a million Kindles a week and reports of Amazon's production of Kindle Fires approaching 5 million units in the final quarter of 2011, that strategy looks to pay off, but not in a timeframe that might satisfy short-sighted investors on Wall Street.
Ultimately, 2011 looks to be the year where the blueprint for the next decade of Amazon's growth was laid out. It'll be:

• A hybrid of Wal-Mart, a dominant retailer, but online ��
• Costco, through continuing tie-ins to Amazon Prime, which provides a recurring annual revenue stream ��
• And Apple: Through offering hardware that's vertically integrated with closed-in software.

Note that in the video, the Amazon shipment rate for Kindles as a whole device class is 1 million per week.
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