Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) stock was on the rise Friday following the release of its earnings report for the first quarter of the year.
Ericsson’s earnings report for the first quarter of 2018 includes earnings per share of one penny. This is down from the company’s earnings per share of 2 cents from the same time last year. However, it is good news for ERIC stock by coming in above Wall Street’s losses per share estimate of 2 cents for the period.
Ericsson also points out that it saw both its net losses and operating loss for the first quarter of 2018 lessen when compared to the first quarter of 2017. This is likely helping ERIC stock’s rise today as investors celebrate the shrinking losses.
Revenue reported by Ericsson in the first quarter of the year was $5.14 billion. This is down from its revenue of $5.66 billion that was reported in the same quarter of the previous year. It also misses analysts’ revenue estimate of $5.36 billion for the quarter.
Ericsson notes that its net cash at the end of the first quarter of 2018 was $4.21 billion. This represents a roughly 20% increase over its net cash of $3.35 billion that was reported at the end of the first quarter of 2017.
“We have continued to execute on our focused business strategy creating solutions that help our customers improve their business. Our efforts to improve efficiency in service delivery and common costs are starting to pay off,” Ericsson President and CEO Börje Ekholm said in a statement. “The gross margin improved to 36% (19%) in the quarter, tracking well towards our Group target of 37-39% by 2020.”
ERIC stock was up 16% as of Friday afternoon.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
