Are Windstream Earnings Enough to Move the Needle?

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 5:31PM EST · Published Nov 5, 9:10AM EST

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Are Windstream Earnings Enough to Move the Needle? — © Thinkstock

Windstream Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: WIN) reported its third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company had a net loss of $0.13 per share on $1.5 billion in revenue, which compares to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of a net loss of $0.34 per share on revenue of $1.47 billion. In the same period of the previous year, the company posted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.18 and $1.46 billion in revenue.

Windstream says it now expects fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $1.38 billion to $1.4 billion and capital expenditures in the range of $205 million to $230 million. Consensus estimates call for a net loss of $0.50 per share and $1.43 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter.

During the third quarter, Windstream repurchased 3.1 million shares for $20 million, or 25% of the $75 million share repurchase plan announced in August, which is expected to be completed by December 31. Additionally, the board of directors declared the regular quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share to shareholders of record as of December 31.

Earlier in October, Windstream announced the sale of its data center business for $575 million. The net proceeds from this transaction will enable debt reduction of roughly $300 million and fund Project Excel. That project is a $250 million program that accelerates Windstream’s plans to upgrade and modernize the company’s broadband capabilities by year-end 2016, or two years ahead of the previous timeline.

Tony Thomas, president and CEO of Windstream, commented on earnings:

The Windstream team is executing on all facets of our strategy and driving progress. Total revenue grew sequentially, excluding the incremental CAF-2 revenues received. We continue to see steady results in our Consumer and ILEC SMB units, and Enterprise revenue growth accelerated.

On the books, Windstream’s third-quarter cash and cash equivalents totaled $97.2 million, compared to $27.8 million at the end of December 2014.

Shares of Windstream closed Wednesday up nearly 3% at $6.38, with a consensus analyst price target of $7.44 and a 52-week trading range of $4.42 to $16.04.

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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.