A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Iron Mountain (IRM). Shares have lost about 4.1% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Iron Mountain due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
Iron Mountain Misses Q1 FFO and Revenue Estimates
Iron Mountain reported first-quarter 2019 normalized FFO per share of 48 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents. The reported figure also compares unfavorably with the year-ago reported tally of 53 cents.
Results reflect higher labor costs in its North America businesses in March and lower-than-expected growth in revenues.
Adjusted FFO fell 12.7% year over year to $193.4 million.
Revenues of $1.05 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.06 billion. However, the reported figure improved 4.5% year over year, excluding the impact of foreign exchange. The year-over-year results reflect data-center and adjacent business buyouts as well as growth in Other International Business segment.
Quarter Details
Storage revenues came in at $663 million in the first quarter and denoted 5.1% increase on a constant-currency basis. The company recorded 2% organic growth, year over year. In developed markets, storage organic revenue growth came in at 1.1%, while in Other International markets, storage organic revenue growth was 4.6% year over year.
Service revenues amounted to $391 million in the reported quarter, indicating an increase of 3.5% on a constant-currency basis. Moreover, it witnessed organic growth of 1.8%, year over year. Service organic revenue growth in developed markets came in at 1.8%, while in Other International markets, the figure was down 0.6%.
Adjusted EBITDA margin shrunk 210 basis points (bps) to 30.8%, suggesting higher costs. The company experienced a 40-basis point decline in North America Records and Information management (RIM), 230-basis point contraction in Western Europe and a 230-basis point slip in Global Data Center.
Guidance
Iron Mountain has maintained its guidance for 2019. The company expects, on a constant currency basis, revenue growth of 1-6%, constant currency adjusted EBITDA growth to be flat to 8% and adjusted FFO increase of 1-8%.
Particularly, the company projects revenues at $4,200-$4,400 million, adjusted EBITDA of $1,420-$1,530 million and adjusted FFO of $870 - $930 million in 2019. Specifically, the company forecasts stronger adjusted EBITDA growth in the second half of the year, following elevated expenses in March and the current quarter.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates. The consensus estimate has shifted -7.72% due to these changes.
VGM Scores
At this time, Iron Mountain has an average Growth Score of C, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision indicates a downward shift. Notably, Iron Mountain has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM
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