Preview: Crown Holdings's Earnings

On Monday, April 19, Crown Holdings CCK will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings release.

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

Based on management's projections, Crown Holdings analysts model for earnings of $1.39 per share on sales of $2.98 billion. In the same quarter last year, Crown Holdings reported earnings per share of $1.13 on sales of $2.76 billion.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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 Monday, earnings would be up 23.01%. Revenue would be up 8.09% from the same quarter last year. Crown Holdings's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Crown Holdings were trading at $108.37 as of April 15. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 78.64%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Crown Holdings is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.