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Thomson Financial expects Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) to lose $1.20 when it announces its fourth-quarter results on January 17th. That's bad compared to the same period in 2006, when it earned $0.89.
Washington Mutual is a Seattle-based bank operating in four segments: the Retail Banking Group, the Card Services Group, the Commercial Group,and the Home Loans Group. In the last year, its revenues were $19.8 billion and its net income totaled $2.4 billion. Its stock has lost 69% of its value in the last year, and it now trades at a P/E of 5.4.
It has a mixed record when it comes to beating estimates. In the second quarter of 2007, it beat the estimate by 2.2% and in the third quarter it missed by 32.4%. My hunch is that it will miss expectations.
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Washington Mutual securities.
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