How did SCHL's Q4 2024 EPS surprise investors?

Scholastic's (SCHL) Q4 2024 EPS fell short of investor expectations, resulting in a negative surprise. 1. **EPS Surprise**: The EPS surprise for Scholastic in Q4 2024 was -0.93, indicating that the actual EPS was significantly lower than what investors were expecting. |code|Ticker|Name|Date|Estimate EPS|EPS Surprise|market_code| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |SCHL|SCHL.O|Scholastic|2024 Q1|-1.2|-1|185| |SCHL|SCHL.O|Scholastic|2024 Q2|2.65|-0.2|185| |SCHL|SCHL.O|Scholastic|2024 Q3|-0.8|0|185| |SCHL|SCHL.O|Scholastic|2024 Q4|2.66|-0.93|185| 2. **Revenue and Profitability Issues**: - Scholastic’s Q4 revenue fell 3.2% year-on-year to $544.6 million, missing market expectations. - The company's GAAP profit of $1.71 per share was 25.7% below analysts’ consensus estimates. - This decline in revenue and profitability contributed to the negative EPS surprise. 3. **Historical Performance Context**: Scholastic has shown inconsistent performance, with Q2 2025 earnings also missing estimates by -21.0% (EPS of $1.82 vs. $2.3 estimated). This trend suggests ongoing challenges for the company in meeting market expectations. 4. **Investor Sentiment and Market Reaction**: After the earnings release, Scholastic's stock likely faced downward pressure due to the negative EPS surprise and revenue misses. The stock's price change of 1.11% to $18.24 as of the latest report period suggests some market skepticism about the company's short-term prospects. In conclusion, Scholastic's Q4 2024 EPS fell below expectations due to a combination of lower-than-expected revenue and profitability. This marks another quarter of earnings misses for the company, which could lead to concerns among investors about its long-term financial health and strategic direction.