Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL) revealed its earnings numbers for the three months ending September 30, 2013 this afternoon after the market closed. The company showed earnings of 55 cents per share for the period on revenue of $845 million. On today’s market, the company’s stock trended down to finish Tuesday trading at $21 per share.
Analysts following the private education provider were looking for earnings of 24 cents per share from today’s earnings report. Revenue for the third quarter of the year was expected to come in at $824 million. The same three months of 2012 saw the company earn 52 cents on revenue totaling 996 million.
Apollo Group earnings
Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL) earnings have been down through 2013, and the company has been declining in earning power for years on end. This year, earnings are expected to come in at $2.84 per share. Revenue is expected to come in at $3.7 billion for the full year.
In 2012, Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL) earned $3.56 per share, and in 2011 it earned $4.94 per share. The firm’s revenue came in at $4.3 billion and $4.7 billion in those years respectively. Apollo is facing a decline of existential proportions, and there appears to be few ways to solve the problem.
Apollo Group performance
Since the start of 2013, shares in Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL) have been mostly flat, losing just over 1 percent for the year so far. The company’s stock has massively underperformed wider market indices. Since the start of the year the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) has gained more than 22 percent, while the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has gained just over 29 percent for the year so far.
Shares in Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL) are trading at just under 8.5 times 2012 earnings on today’s market. That prices in almost no growth given the P/E expansion in this years market. With earnings expected to decrease in the next year, the company is still overpriced by many metrics.
Executives from the Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL) will host an earnings call to discuss this earnings report at 5PM EST. Investors and analysts will be looking for the company’s strategy in dealing with falling revenues and a difficult earnings outlook.
