Texas Instruments Earnings, Forecast Disappoint Investors

October 24, 2017 by Paul Ausick

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) reported third-quarter 2017 results after markets closed Tuesday. The semiconductor maker reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.26 on revenues of $4.12 billion. In the same period last year the company reported EPS of $0.98 on revenues of $3.68 billion. The consensus estimates called for EPS of $1.12 on revenues of $3.91 billion.

TI has paid out $1.99 billion in dividends for the trailing 12 months, an increase of 30% compared with the same period ending in September 2016. TI said it has returned $4.32 billion to shareholders in the past 12 months through dividends and stock buybacks.

The company’s quarterly net income of $1.29 billion is 26% higher than last year’s net income of $1.02 billion, and operating profit of $1.79 billion is 27% above the $1.41 billion reported in the third quarter of last year.

For the fourth quarter of 2017, TI’s outlook calls for revenue in the range of $3.57 billion to $3.87 billion and EPS between $1.01 and $1.15. Analysts are estimating EPS at $1.01 and revenues at $3.66 billion. For the full year, analysts are looking for EPS of $4.13 and revenues of $14.67 billion.

Free cash flow for the trailing 12 months totaled $4.25 billion, up 4% compared with 4.09 in the period up to September 2016. As a percentage of revenue, free cash flow dipped from 31.1% a year ago to 29% this year.

Investors and traders were clearly looking for more. Shares traded down about 1.6% at $94.90 in after-hours trading Tuesday after closing the regular session at $96.44, up about 0.2% for the day. The 52-week range is $66.80 to $96.74. Prior to the earnings release the 12-month price target on the stock was $90.03.

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