Earnings Preview for Whirlpool

On Wednesday, April 21, Whirlpool WHR 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

Wall Street analysts see Whirlpool reporting earnings of $5.41 per share on sales of $4.85 billion. In the same quarter last year, Whirlpool reported earnings per share of $2.82 on sales of $4.33 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.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 91.84% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be up 12.14% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the Whirlpool's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Whirlpool were trading at $234.4 as of April 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 139.71%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Whirlpool is scheduled to hold the call at 08:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.