Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Universal Display (OLED) Q3 Earnings & Revenues Lag Estimates

Read MoreHide Full Article

Universal Display Corporation (OLED - Free Report) delivered third-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of 48 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 63 cents. However, the figure surged 71.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Revenues jumped 26% to $77.6 million but lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $88 million.

The company adopted a new Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 606 using full retrospective method from the first quarter of 2018. Per the new accounting standards, Universal Display now reports license fee revenue on a per gram sales basis. Under the transition method, the company applied “standard only to contracts that were not complete at the initial adoption date.”

Following the results shares plunged more than 5% yesterday, primarily owing to year-over-year growth of both top and bottom line.

Segment Details

Material sales (66% of total revenues) increased 9% from the year-ago quarter to $51.2 million, primarily due to increasing OLED panel demand. Green emitters sales (including yellow-green emitters) were $35.9 million, up 9.5% year over year. Red emitter sales were $14.6 million, up 6.6% from the year-ago quarter.

Royalty and license fees (30% of total revenues) increased 94% year over year to $23.3 million. Contract research services (4% of total revenues) were up 13.5% to $2.9 million.

Operating Details

GAAP Gross margin expanded 100 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis to 79.2%. Material gross margin contracted 190 bps on a year-over-year basis to 73.1%.

Research and development (R&D) expenses and selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of revenues of declined 120 bps and 330 bps, respectively.

GAAP operating margin expanded 800 bps on a year-over-year basis to 33.6%.

Balance Sheet

As on Sep 30, 2018, Universal Display had cash and cash equivalents (including short-term investments) of $493.6 million compared with $457.4 million, at the end of previous quarter.

The company generated $94.9 million as cash from operating activities for the nine months ended Sep 30, 2018.

The company recently approved a quarterly cash dividend payment of 6 cents per share to be paid on Dec 28, 2018 to shareholders as on Dec 14, 2018.

Guidance

Universal Display revised guidance for fiscal 2018. The company now expects revenues between $240 million and $250 million under ASC 606. Under ASC 605, the company expects revenue to be in the range of $315 million to $325 million). The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $846.7 million.

Management expects overall material gross margins in the 70-75% range.

Operating expenses (including R&D, SG&A and Patent costs) are anticipated to increase in the range of 10% to 15%, primarily due to higher R&D costs.

Stocks to Consider

Currently, Universal Display has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are NetApp, Inc. (NTAP - Free Report) , Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) and Upland Software, Inc. (UPLD - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NetApp, Intel and Upland Software have a long-term earnings growth rate of 14.1%, 8.4% and 20%, respectively.

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies

It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%.

And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.

See Them Free>>

Published in