Zimmer Biomet Holdings's Earnings: A Preview

On Friday, February 05, Zimmer Biomet Holdings ZBH will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's outlook for Zimmer Biomet Holdings is included in the following report.

Net Income, Earnings, And Earnings Per Share

Earnings and especially earnings per share (EPS) are useful measures of a company's profitability. Total earnings, which is also referred to as net income, equals total revenue minus total expenses. EPS equals to net income divided by the number of shares outstanding.

Earnings And Revenue

Sell-side analysts expect Zimmer Biomet Holdings's EPS to be near $2.06 on sales of $2.08 billion. In the same quarter last year, Zimmer Biomet Holdings reported EPS of $2.3 on revenue of $2.13 billion.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

Wall Street analysts who study this company will publish analyst estimates of revenue and EPS. The averages of all analyst EPS and revenue estimates are called the "consensus estimates"; these consensus estimates can have a significant effect on a company's performance during an earnings release. When a company posts earnings or revenue above or below a consensus estimate, it has posted an "earnings surprise", which can really move a stock depending on the difference between actual and estimated values.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Friday, earnings would be down 10.43%. Sales would be down 2.16% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Zimmer Biomet Holdings were trading at $158.63 as of February 03. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 2.97%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Zimmer Biomet Holdings is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.