RE:RE:RE:RE:Here's all the Quarterly Facts! YA BABY YA!Weaker margins are indeed a big concern. Why? Because to meet the exponential EPS growth expectations of the street analysts going forward you need three things:
1) acquisitions
2) same store sales growth
3) improving gross profit margins
The gross profit margin assumptions could be a killer here because most projections (models) imbed a gradual improvement over the next few years and instead we see deterioration. Needless to say a 0.50% delta on $3.0 -$4.0 billion in revenue can make the difference between heaven (+ delta) and the woodshed (-delta) for the bottom line because the net profit margins are so slim to start with.. They can make up by better controlling SG&A but so far the benefits of getting bigger have been muted... So this is a high wire act... If for some reasons one or more of the 3 factors above falter, the forward EPS estimates will be reduced sharply and the stock will tank... Be careful...
ps I also noticed that a lower tax rate embellished the Q3's bottom line by a few pennies
orepass