Headline: "New Oriental Education Shares Plummet 6% Amid Weak Revenue Forecast"

BEIJING - New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE: EDU) reported first-quarter earnings surpassing expectations on Wednesday, but shares fell 6.3% following a disappointing revenue outlook for the current quarter.

The Chinese education company announced an adjusted earnings per ADS of $1.60 for the fiscal first quarter ending August 31, exceeding analysts' forecast of $1.47. Revenue rose 30.5% from the same period last year to $1.44 billion, aligning with expectations.

However, New Oriental's second-quarter outlook fell short of Wall Street estimates. The company anticipates revenue between $851.4 million and $871.8 million, significantly below the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion.

CEO Michael Yu stated, "We are pleased to start our fiscal year 2025 with a healthy top-line growth of 30.5%," highlighting the strong performance in overseas test preparation, educational consulting, and domestic test preparation businesses.

Operating income increased by 42.9% to $293.2 million, with the operating margin expanding to 20.4% from 18.6% in the same period the previous year.

New Oriental concluded the quarter with $4.9 billion in cash and investments. The company repurchased approximately 9.8 million ADS for $457.9 million under its existing share buyback program.