Construction Partners' (NASDAQ:ROAD) Problems Go Beyond Weak Profit

A lackluster earnings announcement from Construction Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROAD) last week didn't sink the stock price. We think that investors are worried about some weaknesses underlying the earnings.

View our latest analysis for Construction Partners

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

For anyone who wants to understand Construction Partners' profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from US$2.0m worth of unusual items. While it's always nice to have higher profit, a large contribution from unusual items sometimes dampens our enthusiasm. When we crunched the numbers on thousands of publicly listed companies, we found that a boost from unusual items in a given year is often not repeated the next year. Which is hardly surprising, given the name. Assuming those unusual items don't show up again in the current year, we'd thus expect profit to be weaker next year (in the absence of business growth, that is).

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

Our Take On Construction Partners' Profit Performance

Arguably, Construction Partners' statutory earnings have been distorted by unusual items boosting profit. Therefore, it seems possible to us that Construction Partners' true underlying earnings power is actually less than its statutory profit. In further bad news, its earnings per share decreased in the last year. At the end of the day, it's essential to consider more than just the factors above, if you want to understand the company properly. So while earnings quality is important, it's equally important to consider the risks facing Construction Partners at this point in time. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Construction Partners you should know about.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Construction Partners' profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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