On second look, you are right,M6: the Morningstar data are misleading, because it is not clear what the "TTM" refers to, or when that summary was prepared, or whether Morningstar is dealing in fiscal years or in calendar years.
Since SYMC's fiscal year 2000 ended in March, best to go to Symantec's own Thursday press release, for earnings:
Earnings per share before the amortization of goodwill and one-time charges for the fourth quarter was $0.63, 46 percent higher than the same quarter last year and 19 percent higher than the previous quarter. For fiscal year 2000, earnings per share before the amortization of goodwill and one-time charges was $2.10, an increase of 56 percent compared to the earnings per share of $1.35 for fiscal year 1999.
symantec.com
So, an estimate of $2.60 for 2001 is almost 24% higher than $2.10. Personally, I suspect (or hope!) that the analysts are still low-balling. If you will look back at the quarterly estimates this year,you will see that the analysts kept raising their estimates, but never high enough: for the past three quarters running, SYMC has overshot even their revised projections. Trust that will continue to happen.
Personally, I wonder why the estimates have been so low. Is this the result of company guidance (i.e., better too low than too high!), or the analysts' failure to anticipate positive developments?
Getting back to Morningstar et al, the reporting services really tick me off with their tardiness in incorporating new data, and occasional downright sloppiness. For example, I went to Multex.com, thinking it might have a new brokerage report on Symantec. No such luck. They have a bunch of reports a year or more old, which they are peddling at $25 a pop. The only thing deader than yesterday's newspaper is a year-old brokerage report. For this they want $25? Ha!
So then I downloaded their free "ACE Consensus Report," dated April 22, 2000 (Saturday). SYMC reported 2000 fiscal year earnings of $2.10 per share, and fourth quarter earnings of $.63 a share, on April 19, as you will recall. From the "April 22" report:
At this time, Wall Street analysts anticipate $1.90 per share this year (2000) and $2.49 next year (2001). This points to an increase of 120.9% over last year's earnings of $0.86 a share (?!).....Symantec is expected...to record earnings of $0.53 per share in the fourth quarter. If correct, this forecast...indicates that analysts believe ernings will not match the $.63 per share recorded in the prior year earlier quarter [what??!!], declining by 15.87%...etc., etc....
Get it together, boys and girls!
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