Compass (CMP) Reports Q2 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

Compass Minerals (CMP) reported $411.1 million in revenue for the quarter ended March 2023, representing a year-over-year decline of 8.3%. EPS of -$0.46 for the same period compares to $0.33 a year ago.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of -3.70% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $426.91 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.53, the EPS surprise was -186.79%.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Compass performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Average Sales Price per ton - Plant Nutrition: $796 versus $827.67 estimated by three analysts on average.

• Sales volumes- Salt: 4403 KTon versus 4485.78 KTon estimated by three analysts on average.

• Average Salt Sales Price per ton: $81.87 compared to the $83.72 average estimate based on three analysts.

• Sales volumes - Plant Nutrition: 60 KTon versus the three-analyst average estimate of 61.27 KTon.

• Sales to external customers - Salt: $360.50 million versus $364.79 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -7.9% change.

• Sales to external customers- Plant Nutrition: $47.70 million compared to the $50.72 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -12.2% year over year.

• Sales to external customers- Corporate & Other: $2.90 million compared to the $2.73 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of 0% year over year.

• Operating earnings- Corporate and Other: -$24.50 million compared to the -$20.57 million average estimate based on three analysts.

• Operating earnings- Salt: $73.10 million compared to the $63.96 million average estimate based on three analysts.

View all Key Company Metrics for Compass here>>>

Shares of Compass have returned -3.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.9% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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