Earnings Preview: Cerner's EPS, Revenue Expected to Rise

Cerner CERN releases its next round of earnings this Thursday, October 27, 2011. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's third quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Wall Street expects an EPS of 45 cents/share and revenues of $533.3 million. Cerner's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of 35 cents/share on revenues of $462.7 million. Can Cerner manage the estimated 28.6% rise in EPS and 15.3% increase in revenues from the year-ago quarter as analysts are predicting? We'll have to wait until Thursday to find out.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
EPS Estimate	$0.41	$0.36	$0.40	$0.35
EPS Actual	$0.42	$0.38	$0.41	$0.35

Stock Performance:

Shares of Cerner were trading at $66.83 as of October 21, 2011. Since January 1st, shares of Cerner have given investors a return of 41.1%. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 53.8%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Cerner is a Moderate Buy. This rating has strengthened slightly over the past ninety days.

Competitors:

Want to check out the performance of Cerner closest competitors? Take a look at some of the company's peers in the healthcare sector.

• CareFusion CFN: Hold with a $0.52 recent quarter EPS
• Computer CSC: Hold with a $0.64 recent quarter EPS
• McKesson MCK: Moderate Buy with a $1.27 recent quarter EPS
• Allscripts MDRX: Moderate Buy with a $0.19 recent quarter EPS

The medical information systems company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 1.9% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Cerner Corporation designs and supports healthcare devices, healthcare information technology, and content solutions for organizations and consumers.

Take Action:

There is your peek into Cerner's upcoming earnings numbers, including some competitors to watch around the time of the announcement. Check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap. In the meantime, here are some links to explore today.

• To see up-to-date news on Cerner, click here
• To see other trading ideas, click here
• To see other company earnings recaps, click here