Revenue Analysis
Revenue figures show Total and Operating Revenue peaked in Q3 2023 at $267.876 million, decreasing slightly into Q1 2024 to $261.406 million. Gross Profit followed a similar trend, highest at $193.839 million in Q4 2023, reducing to $184.369 million by Q1 2024, suggesting a possible pressure on prices or increased production costs.
Cost Management
The Cost of Revenue was at its lowest at $70.087 million in Q3 2023, increasing to $77.037 million by Q1 2024, suggesting cost increases or possibly scaled operations. Operating Expense and Total Expenses have generally increased each quarter, evident from $64.048 million and $135.834 million in Q4 2023 respectively scaling to $66.342 million and $143.379 million in Q1 2024.
Profitability Analysis
EBITDA was at its highest in Q4 2023 at $187.359 million before slightly reducing to $169.524 million in Q1 2024. Operating Income peaked similarly in Q4 2023 at $129.291 million, decreasing to $118.027 million by Q1 2024. Pretax Income also showed a decrease from $113.137 million in Q4 2023 to $94.858 million in Q1 2024. Net Income follows this trend, reducing from $112.667 million in Q4 2023 to $94.527 million in Q1 2024.
Cash Flow Indicators
Reconciled Depreciation showed a slight upward trend from $50.566 million in Q4 2023 to $51.747 million in Q1 2024. Interest Expense was consistent, largely hovering around $22.6 million to $23.9 million across the observed quarters.
Taxation
The Tax Rate applied varies, being at 21% for all quarters except Q1 2024, where it increased to 40%, greatly influencing the net income figures despite gross income before tax remaining strong. There was no Tax Effect of Unusual Items noted in any quarters, suggesting standard operations without extraordinary or non-recurring events.
Shareholder Metrics
Diluted and Basic EPS shows a decreasing trend from $0.46 in Q3 2023 to $0.42 in Q1 2024, aligning with the overall drop in profitability. Average Shares stood around 226 million for diluted and 225 million for basic across the periods, indicating stability in the shareholder base.
Conclusion
While CUBE has shown strong revenue and gross profitability, there is a noticeable decline in net profitability and EPS in the latest quarter, influenced sharply by a substantial increase in the tax rate. Operational costs have also seen a gradual increase. Opportunities may lie in optimizing cost control and possibly reevaluating financial strategies related to taxation to enhance net income figures.