A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Sabre (SABR Quick QuoteSABR - Free Report) . Shares have added about 39.3% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Sabre due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Sabre Reported Wider-Than-Expected Loss in Q4

Sabre reported wider-than-expected loss for fourth-quarter 2020. The company’s adjusted loss per share of 77 cents came in much wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 67 cents. The bottom-line figure also compares unfavorably with the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 16 cents per share.

The company’s revenues plunged to $314 million from the $941 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2019. Revenues were primarily affected by significant reductions in air, hotel and other travel bookings due to the coronavirus pandemic’s adverse impact on the global travel industry. However, the top-line figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $302.9 million.

Revenue Details

Travel Network revenues plunged 69% year over year to $276 million mainly on unprecedented disruptions in travel due to the pandemic. Distribution revenues slumped 79% to $131 million.

During the reported quarter, the company’s total bookings plummeted 79% to 26.31 million, chiefly due to a sharp decline of 80% in net air bookings and a fall of 79% in lodging, ground, and sea bookings.

IT Solutions revenues came in at $145 million, down 40% from the year-ago quarter, primarily on a 55% plunge in reservation revenues, and 25% in commercial and operations revenues. Numbers of boarded airline passengers, a key revenue metric for IT Solutions division, tanked 58% on a year-over-year basis.

The Hospitality Solutions segment’s revenues plunged 41%, year on year, to $41 million chiefly on a 40% decline in central reservation system transactions.

The company reported adjusted operating loss of $169 million, as against the operating income of $98 million recorded in the year-earlier period.

Full-Year 2020 Highlights

Sabre’s revenues tumbled 66% year over year to $1.3 billion in 2020. The company posted an adjusted loss of $3.18 per share for the year, as against the adjusted earnings of $1.01 per share registered in 2019.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Sabre ended the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.50 billion compared with the previous quarter’s $1.67 billion.

During the full year, the company used $770 million of cash for operational activities and generated negative free cash flow of $836 million.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review. The consensus estimate has shifted 6.15% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

At this time, Sabre has a poor Growth Score of F, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the lowest quintile for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of F. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Sabre has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.