Earnings Outlook for GATX

GATX GATX announces its next round of earnings this Tuesday, April 20. Here is Benzinga's look at GATX's Q1 earnings report.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Analysts covering GATX modeled for quarterly EPS of $0.85 on revenue of $303.17 million. In the same quarter last year, GATX reported EPS of $1.31 on revenue of $308.90 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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 35.11% decline in the company's EPS figure. Sales would be down 1.85% on a year-over-year basis. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Stock Performance

Shares of GATX were trading at $95.94 as of April 16. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 77.28%. 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. GATX is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.