• Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $0.54 per share, missing the estimated loss of $0.52.
• Fourth-quarter revenue was $293.8 million, falling short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.4%.
• Fiscal year 2024 adjusted earnings were $4.13 per share, indicating a 2% year-over-year increase.

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR), a utility company operating in the gas distribution industry, provides natural gas services to a variety of customers. Despite facing competition within the sector, Spire reported its fourth-quarter earnings on November 20, 2024, revealing a loss of $0.54 per share, slightly below the estimated loss of $0.52.

The reported earnings per share (EPS) of -$0.54 was an improvement from the previous year's loss of $0.78 per share. However, the earnings report reflected a negative earnings surprise of 3.85%, as highlighted by Zacks. In contrast, the previous quarter saw a positive earnings surprise of 22.22%, with a reported loss of $0.14 per share against an expected loss of $0.18.

Spire's revenue for the quarter was $293.8 million, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $317 million by 7.4%. This represents a 5.3% decrease from the $310.4 million reported in the same quarter last year. Over the past four quarters, Spire has exceeded consensus revenue estimates twice, despite the recent shortfall.

For the entire fiscal year 2024, Spire's total revenues amounted to $2.59 billion, down 2.7% from $2.67 billion in fiscal 2023. However, the company reported fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings of $4.13 per share, up from $4.05 in fiscal 2023, marking a 2% year-over-year increase. This indicates some positive momentum in its annual performance.

Spire's financial metrics include a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of approximately 15.73 and a price-to-sales ratio of about 1.52. The enterprise value to sales ratio is around 1.90, and the enterprise value to operating cash flow ratio is approximately 5.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of about 0.31, indicating moderate debt levels, and a current ratio of 0.45, reflecting its ability to cover short-term liabilities.