Preview: Zions Bancorp's Earnings

Zions Bancorp ZION announces its next round of earnings this Monday, April 19. Here is Benzinga's look at Zions Bancorp's Q1 earnings report.

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

Zions Bancorp EPS is expected to be around $1.16, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $697.68 million. In the same quarter last year, Zions Bancorp reported EPS of $0.04 on revenue of $682.00 million.

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.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 2800.0% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be have grown 2.3% 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

Over the last 52-week period, shares of Zions Bancorp are up 94.19%.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Zions Bancorp is scheduled to hold the call at 17:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.