NEW ORIENTAL-New Oriental Stock Down on Q2 Earnings Lag, Revenue Beat

Core Insights - New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. reported mixed results for Q2 fiscal 2025, with earnings missing estimates while net revenues exceeded expectations, leading to a 23.2% drop in stock price [1][3]. Financial Performance - Adjusted earnings were 22 cents per ADS, missing the consensus estimate of 47 cents by 53.2%, and decreased 24.1% year-over-year [3]. - Total revenues reached $1,038.6 million, slightly surpassing the consensus by 0.4% and growing 19.4% year-over-year. Excluding certain revenues, net revenues were$ 894.2 million, marking a 31.3% increase compared to the previous year [4]. - The overseas test preparation and study consulting segments grew by 21.1% and 31.0% year-over-year, while the domestic test preparation business saw a 34.9% increase [5]. Business Initiatives - New educational initiatives recorded a 42.6% revenue increase year-over-year, with non-academic tutoring courses offered in about 60 cities, attracting approximately 994,000 student enrollments [6]. - The company focused on aligning capacity expansion with revenue growth and enhancing its online-merge-offline teaching system [2]. Cost and Expenses - Cost of revenues increased by 17.9% year-over-year to $498.3 million, while non-GAAP operating costs rose 23.5% to$ 1,011.1 million, primarily due to accelerated capacity expansion and new business integrations [7]. - Selling and marketing expenses increased by 26.6%, and non-GAAP general and administrative expenses rose by 24.7% [8]. Operating Margins - Non-GAAP operating income was $27.6 million, down 45.8% year-over-year, with a non-GAAP operating margin of 2.7%, a decrease of 320 basis points from the previous year [8]. - The non-GAAP operating margin, excluding certain contributions, improved by 12 basis points year-over-year to 3.2%, indicating resilience in managing profitability [9]. Cash Position - As of November 30, 2024, the company had total cash and cash equivalents of approximately$ 1,418.2 million, up from $1,389.4 million at the end of fiscal 2024 [10]. Share Repurchase Program - The board approved a share repurchase program, increasing the authorization to$ 700 million, with approximately 11.2 million ADS repurchased for $542.8 million as of January 20, 2025 [11]. Future Guidance - For Q3 fiscal 2025, the company expects total revenues, excluding certain revenues, to be between$ 1,007.3 million and $1,032.5 million, indicating an 18-21% growth year-over-year [12].