Preview: Arcadia Biosciences's Earnings

On Tuesday, March 30, Arcadia Biosciences RKDA will release its latest earnings report. Decipher the announcement with Benzinga's help.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Arcadia Biosciences's per-share loss will be near $0.41 on sales of $1.26 million, according to Wall Street analysts. Arcadia Biosciences EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.72. Sales were $416.00 thousand.

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

Analysts who cover this company will publish forward-looking estimates of its revenue and EPS each quarter. Averaging together every EPS and revenue prediction that each analyst makes about a company in a quarter yields the "consensus estimates." A company posting earnings or revenue above or below the consensus estimate is known as an "earnings surprise" and may move the stock by a considerable margin.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Tuesday, quarterly profit would be up 43.06%. Revenue would be up 202.88% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has compared to analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Arcadia Biosciences were trading at $2.55 as of March 26. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 12.98%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably upset going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Arcadia Biosciences is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.