A Preview Of Cracker Barrel Old's Earnings

Cracker Barrel Old CBRL announces its next round of earnings this Tuesday, February 23. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Tuesday's Q2 earnings announcement.

Net Income, Earnings, And Earnings Per Share

Earnings and EPS are useful metrics of profitability. Total earnings also known as net income is equal to total revenue minus total expenses. Dividing net income by the total number of shares outstanding yields EPS.

Earnings And Revenue

Based on Cracker Barrel Old management projections, analysts predict EPS of $0.78 on revenue of $672.76 million. Cracker Barrel Old reported a profit of $2.7 per share when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $846.14 million.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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 Tuesday, EPS would have fallen 71.11%. Sales would be down 20.49% 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 Cracker Barrel Old were trading at $153.25 as of February 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 3.08%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Cracker Barrel Old is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.