ADT Earnings Not That Secure

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 2:23AM EST · Published Mar 15, 11:50AM EDT

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ADT Earnings Not That Secure — © Thinkstock

When ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT) released its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Thursday, the company said that it had a net loss of $0.06 per share on $1.11 billion in revenue. That compared with consensus estimates of $0.10 in earnings per share (EPS) on revenue of $1.09 billion. The fourth quarter of last year reportedly had a net loss of $0.07 per share and $1.05 billion in revenue.

During the quarter, monitoring and related services (M&S) revenues made up roughly 92% of total revenue in the quarter, or $1.01 billion. The growth in M&S revenue was driven by improvements in customer revenue attrition and higher average price. The remaining increase in total revenue was driven by higher outright sales and incremental amortization of deferred installation revenue.

Looking ahead to the 2018 full year, ADT expects to see total revenues of $4.45 billion to $4.55 billion, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $2.415 billion to $2.435 billion. The consensus estimates call for $0.81 in EPS on $4.47 billion in revenue for the year.

The board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.035 per share, payable on April 5, to common stockholders of record on March 26.

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On the books, ADT’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $123 million at the end of the quarter, up from $76 million in the same period of last year.

Tim Whall, ADT’s CEO, commented:

Our fourth quarter results reflect a very strong finish to 2017. We grew revenue, EBITDA, and cash flow year-over-year, and we also meaningfully reduced customer attrition while improving customer acquisition efficiency. Following our initial public offering, we are excited about the future of ADT and our ability to drive significant cash flow growth as we continue to execute against our strategic objectives.

Shares of ADT were last seen down over 8% at $9.35, with a consensus analyst price target of $16.75 and a 52-week range of $9.32 to $13.02.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.