Last week's profit announcement from Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) was underwhelming for investors, despite headline numbers being robust. We did some digging and found some worrying underlying problems.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

For anyone who wants to understand Bruker's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from US$82m worth of unusual items. While we like to see profit increases, we tend to be a little more cautious when unusual items have made a big contribution. When we crunched the numbers on thousands of publicly listed companies, we found that a boost from unusual items in a given year is often not repeated the next year. And that's as you'd expect, given these boosts are described as 'unusual'. If Bruker doesn't see that contribution repeat, then all else being equal we'd expect its profit to drop over the current year.

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

Our Take On Bruker's Profit Performance

Arguably, Bruker's statutory earnings have been distorted by unusual items boosting profit. Because of this, we think that it may be that Bruker's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. But the good news is that its EPS growth over the last three years has been very impressive. Of course, we've only just scratched the surface when it comes to analysing its earnings; one could also consider margins, forecast growth, and return on investment, among other factors. If you want to do dive deeper into Bruker, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Bruker you should be aware of.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Bruker's profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to 'follow the money' and search out stocks that insiders are buying. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.