The subdued stock price reaction suggests that Bloomin' Brands, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BLMN) strong earnings didn't offer any surprises. Our analysis suggests that investors might be missing some promising details.
How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?
To properly understand Bloomin' Brands' profit results, we need to consider the US$54m expense attributed to unusual items. While deductions due to unusual items are disappointing in the first instance, there is a silver lining. We looked at thousands of listed companies and found that unusual items are very often one-off in nature. And, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. Assuming those unusual expenses don't come up again, we'd therefore expect Bloomin' Brands to produce a higher profit next year, all else being equal.
That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.
An Unusual Tax Situation
Just as we noted the unusual items, we must inform you that Bloomin' Brands received a tax benefit which contributed US$27m to the bottom line. This is meaningful because companies usually pay tax rather than receive tax benefits. We're sure the company was pleased with its tax benefit. However, the devil in the detail is that these kind of benefits only impact in the year they are booked, and are often one-off in nature. In the likely event the tax benefit is not repeated, we'd expect to see its statutory profit levels drop, at least in the absence of strong growth. So while we think it's great to receive a tax benefit, it does tend to imply an increased risk that the statutory profit overstates the sustainable earnings power of the business.
Our Take On Bloomin' Brands' Profit Performance
In its last report Bloomin' Brands received a tax benefit which might make its profit look better than it really is on a underlying level. But on the other hand, it also saw an unusual item depress its profit. Considering the aforementioned, we think that Bloomin' Brands' profits are probably a reasonable reflection of its underlying profitability; although we'd be confident in that conclusion if we saw a cleaner set of results. In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. For example - Bloomin' Brands has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
In this article we've looked at a number of factors that can impair the utility of profit numbers, as a guide to a business. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to 'follow the money' and search out stocks that insiders are buying. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with high insider ownership.
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