Will TripAdvisor Miss Estimates Again? Experts & Crowd Weigh In

Shares of TripAdvisor Inc TRIP are down 1.5 percent on Wednesday as the company prepares to announce its fist quarter financial results after the market closes.

A look at Estimize reveals that both experts and the crowd anticipate very little year-over-year earnings growth. Wall Street analysts model consensus earnings of $0.55 per share on revenue of $364.28 million, while Main Street projects consensus earnings of $0.59 per share on revenue of $368.99 million. This compares to earnings of $0.54 per share on revenue of $281 million reported in the same quarter last year.

The surge becomes more relevant, however, when compared with last quarter’s earnings of $0.35 per share, on revenue of $288 million.

TripAdvisor has been missing consensus estimates for four consecutive quarters, so a miss cannot be discarded this quarter.

A second graph illustrates the evolution of the crowd’s and experts’ sentiment over time. The chart shows how expectations have been consistently falling over the past few months, hitting their lowest point on Wednesday, with the report on the doorstep.

Related Link: Cantor Previews TripAdvisor's Earnings

One Analyst Opines

In a report published Tuesday, analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald said they expect TripAdvisor to deliver in-line first quarter results, and reiterated a Hold rating and an $84 price target on the stock. They anticipate 33 percent year-over-year revenue growth, to $375 million, EBITDA of $149 million and normalized EPS of $0.62.

Despite the impact of currency headwinds, TripAdvisor’s "ongoing efforts to improve traffic monetization (via mobile instant book, meta, restaurant bookings, and attractions) should have a net positive impact on 1Q results,” the analysts assured.

The Cantor Fitzgerald note added, “we expect management to update current outlook for high-20% revenue growth and low-to mid-teens EBITDA growth in 2015. Consensus is at 27% and 14% Y/Y, respectively. Relevant topics for discussion on the call include growth in instant book, attractions and vacation-rental listings, and meta-search monetization.”