Coinstar Beats, Gives Bullish Guidance
NEW YORK (
) -
Coinstar
(CSTR) - Get Report
has been full of positive surprises today, first announcing a
with
Verizon
(VZ) - Get Report
, then reporting much better than expected earnings.
Coinstar, known for its change counting machines and Redbox DVD rental kiosks, reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1 per share on revenue of $520.5 million. Analysts polled by
Thomson Reuters
were looking for earnings of 64 cents per share on sales of $498.05 million.
The entertainment company also gave first quarter and 2012 full year guidance, which both came in better than analysts expected. Coinstar expects to generate between $530 million and $550 million in first-quarter sales, and earn between 76 cents and 91 cents per share. Wall Street analysts expect $514.54 million in revenue and 86 cents per share.
For 2012, Coinstar said it expects to have between $2.075 billion and $2.25 billion in revenue, and earn between $3.80 and $4.30 per share. Wall Street is looking for sales of $2.17 billion and earnings of $3.86 per share.
CEO Paul Davis was very positive on the previously announced joint venture with Verizon. "We are delighted to be partnering with Verizon to offer consumers affordable entertainment in both physical and streaming formats and look forward to launching our service in the second half of the year," Davis said in the press release.
Coinstar also announced it would be acquiring the assets of
NCR's
(NCR) - Get Report
DVD business. Terms were not disclosed.
Earlier in the day,
Coinstar announced it would teaming up with Verizon
to go after
Netflix
(NFLX) - Get Report
in an attempt to capture a portion of the digital streaming business. Scant details are available on the joint venture, although Coinstar says consumers will be able to watch what they want, where they want on a variety of different devices.
Coinstar finished the regular session up 91 cents, a gain of 1.8% to $50.56. Shares are soaring in extended hours trading, up 13.23% to $57.25.
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--
Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York
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