Hansen Natural: Q4 Miss Was Bigger Than Expected

When Hansen Natural (HANS) reported it's sketchy "preliminary" fourth quarter results on February 12, it only gave sales and other metrics so analysts could back into an earnings number. The company blamed the limited results on an options probe.

Analysts had been expecting 27 cents per share, and based on reports after the release, that's pretty much what analysts calculated the company did.

Now hear this: Based on a 10-K filed late yesterday, it appears the analysts missed the mark -- and not by a small amount. As it turns out, fourth quarter earnings per share were just 23 cents

The question now: Was the options probe a convenient excuse not to report the bottom line?

Going into the fourth quarter, Hansen's stock had run from $24 after the third quarter release to $37 two days before the fourth quarter release on optimism that bad news was behind the maker of the Monster energy drink (no stranger to readers of this space.) After earnings were reported, and analysts backed into their number, the stock lifted as high as $42 before sinking as low as $32 and then back up to its current price of $39.

Don't ask me how it got to $39, but this much is clear: When first quarter "preliminary" results were released in May -- another quarter in which earnings weren't reported due to the options probe -- investors ignored falling gross margins and a sales shortfall relative to expectations believing, once again, the worst is behind the company.

Now, not that anybody will care, it turns out the fourth quarter wasn't just a miss, but a BIG miss. Can't wait to see what happened in the first quarter.

The beat goes on...

HANS 1-yr chart: