Consolidated Communications (CNSL)

Pretax margin

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	-315,260	-309,054	50,647	173,616	92,477	190,466	-103,327	-149,538	-86,454	-138,644	-117,389	-49,331	38,656	53,806	36,181	6,901	-24,097	-40,970	-66,338	-69,825
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	1,108,273	1,129,071	1,142,036	1,165,264	1,189,461	1,211,965	1,233,930	1,250,822	1,260,849	1,249,993	1,258,475	1,268,369	1,284,566	1,307,977	1,314,817	1,322,890	1,336,839	1,350,554	1,364,712	1,381,684
Pretax margin		-28.45%	-27.37%	4.43%	14.90%	7.77%	15.72%	-8.37%	-11.96%	-6.86%	-11.09%	-9.33%	-3.89%	3.01%	4.11%	2.75%	0.52%	-1.80%	-3.03%	-4.86%	-5.05%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $-315,260K ÷ $1,108,273K
= -28.45%

Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc's pretax margin has shown significant fluctuations over the past eight quarters. The pretax margin for Q4 2023 and Q3 2023 was -27.17% and -27.55%, respectively, indicating a negative margin which suggests that the company's pre-tax income was less than its total revenue for those periods. This trend continued from the previous quarters, with Q2 2023 also showing a negative margin of -22.02%.

The company's performance improved slightly in Q1 2023 with a pretax margin of -10.98%, although it remained negative. Comparing to Q4 2022 where the pretax margin was -17.19%, the latest performance is marginally worse. The highest pretax margin in the past two years was in Q1 2022 at -12.63%, while Q2 and Q3 2022 had pretax margins of -9.06% and -9.94%, respectively.

Overall, Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc's pretax margin has been experiencing challenges, showing a consistent negative trend with occasional fluctuations. This indicates that the company may be struggling to generate profits before accounting for income taxes. Further analysis of the company's cost structure and revenue generation may be necessary to understand the factors contributing to these fluctuations in pretax margin.