Despite posting some strong earnings, the market for Optical Cable Corporation's (NASDAQ:OCC) stock hasn't moved much. Our analysis suggests that shareholders have noticed something concerning in the numbers.

Check out our latest analysis for Optical Cable

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

Importantly, our data indicates that Optical Cable's profit received a boost of US$2.2m in unusual items, over the last year. While it's always nice to have higher profit, a large contribution from unusual items sometimes dampens our enthusiasm. 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, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. We can see that Optical Cable's positive unusual items were quite significant relative to its profit in the year to October 2023. As a result, we can surmise that the unusual items are making its statutory profit significantly stronger than it would otherwise be.

Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of Optical Cable.

Our Take On Optical Cable's Profit Performance

As previously mentioned, Optical Cable's large boost from unusual items won't be there indefinitely, so its statutory earnings are probably a poor guide to its underlying profitability. For this reason, we think that Optical Cable's statutory profits may be a bad guide to its underlying earnings power, and might give investors an overly positive impression of the company. On the bright side, the company showed enough improvement to book a profit this year, after losing money last year. The goal of this article has been to assess how well we can rely on the statutory earnings to reflect the company's potential, but there is plenty more to consider. In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. For example - Optical Cable has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Optical Cable's profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying to be useful.

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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.