Catalent (CTLT Quick QuoteCTLT - Free Report) reported $1.03 billion in revenue for the quarter ended December 2023, representing a year-over-year decline of 10.2%. EPS of -$0.24 for the same period compares to $0.67 a year ago.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +1.79% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.01 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being -$0.03, the EPS surprise was -700.00%.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Catalent performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Revenue- Biologics: $446 million versus $447.75 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -23.1% change.
• Revenue- Pharma and Consumer Health: $587 million versus $570.52 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +3% change.
• Revenue- Inter-segment revenue elimination: -$1 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of -$5.76 million.

View all Key Company Metrics for Catalent here>>>

Shares of Catalent have returned +12.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.1% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.