I had the most difficult time sifting through RetailMeNot’s (SALE) profit figures.
On Friday May 9th I was compiling my spreadsheet data for SALE. I went to three sources, including Thomson Reuters and the company’s own site for annual reports, and all three sources gave me different profit figures. The 2013 Annual Report says the company made $0.23 for the year, Thomson has $1.66. What is it? I ended up going with $1.07.
Trying to get a true number gave me a headache, and I eventually gave up and finished on Monday. I don’t have a lot of confidence in my figures, and you shouldn’t either. I like clear earnings.
Bed, Bath & Beyond has the best annual reports. I don’t read them anymore, but they used to have two pages of earnings through the years. Always clear and concise. It would say “this is our history, this is every year since we went public”. And every year was up. But we’re focusing on RetailMeNot right now, so back to the task at hand.
One Year Chart
Here’s the one-year chart of sale. I kinda like the look of this chart. Especially now that SALE is down around its annual lows. The quarterly profit numbers at the bottom…I don’t know what to say. I tried my best to give you accurate figures.
Using $0.94 in estimated profits for this year, SALE has a P/E of 31. That’s usually not bad for an Internet retailer, but this is high when you consider SALE has an estimated long-term growth rate of 20%.
Fair Value
What’s SALE worth? If I plug-in 25 times earnings the stock’s overvalued now but has good upside to 2015. This assumption is just a shot in the dark. Without clear figures my job is tough.
Sharek’s Take
RetailMeNot seems like a company I would invest in. I just don’t have a handle on what the company is really making. The stock is at the bottom of its trading range so on a technical basis this seems to be a good time to buy. But fundamentally I don’t know. What are the real numbers?
View the Earnings Table here. View the Profit History here.View the Ten Year Chart here.
