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Adtalem (ATGE) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

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Adtalem Global Education Inc. (ATGE - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 results on Aug 18, after the closing bell.

In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.9% but revenues missed the same by 0.3%. On a year-over-year basis, its earnings and revenues grew 26.6% and 4.9% from the prior year, respectively.

This post-secondary education service provider’s earnings topped the consensus mark in three of the last four quarters but missed on one occasion, with the average negative surprise being 0.1%.

Trend in Estimate Revision

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for the quarter to be reported has been unchanged over the past 30 days at 61 cents per share. The said figure indicates a 37.1% decrease from the year-ago earnings of 97 cents per share. The consensus mark for revenues is $260.4 million, suggesting a 21.2% year-over-year decline.

Factors to Note

Adtalem is expected to have witnessed lower revenues and profits in the fiscal fourth quarter due to adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic did not have a material impact on fiscal third-quarter results, management anticipates the impact from the same on revenues and earnings to be more significant in the fiscal fourth quarter.

The company is expected to have witnessed an adverse impact on clinical weeks, and graduate-level nursing and medical school students. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Medical and Healthcare segment’s revenues (contributing 83.7% to total revenues) is pegged at $208 million, implying an 8.4% sequential decrease.

Meanwhile, its Financial Services segment (contributing 16.3% to total revenues) is expected to have been impacted by budgetary constraints of banking and enterprise customers, as well as cancellations of global conferences. The consensus estimate for the segment’s revenues is pegged at $1,158 million, implying fall of 98.7% sequentially.

Nonetheless, the company has been undertaking initiatives to tackle the headwinds created by the COVID-19 outbreak by controlling costs through increasing efficiency and reducing discretionary expenses. It has solid competitive advantages arising from legacy of online learning and a streamlined business portfolio. Also, inorganic efforts are expected to have contributed to its top line, thereby offsetting the above-mentioned headwinds to some extent.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Adtalem this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.

Earnings ESP: The company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Peer Releases

K12 Inc. (LRN - Free Report) reported impressive results for fiscal fourth-quarter 2020, wherein both the top and bottom lines topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate, as well as grew on a year-over-year basis. The upside was mainly driven by solid enrollments and acquisition synergies.

Strategic Education, Inc. or SEI (STRA - Free Report) reported stellar results for second-quarter 2020, wherein the company’s earnings and revenues not only topped analysts’ expectations but also grew from the year-ago level. The uptick was mainly backed by strong top-line numbers, and margins in Strayer and Capella universities.

American Public Education, Inc. (APEI - Free Report) reported impressive second-quarter 2020 results, wherein both the top and bottom lines topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate, as well as grew on a year-over-year basis.

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