Earnings Preview for Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands LVS unveils its next round of earnings this Wednesday, April 21. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for Las Vegas Sands's Q1 earnings.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Analysts are predicting Las Vegas Sands will report a loss of $0.26 per share on revenue of $1.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.03. Sales were $1.78 billion.

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 Wall Street consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 766.67% decrease for the company. Revenue would be down 25.36% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the company's reported EPS has compared to analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands were trading at $60.41 as of April 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 46.07%. 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. Las Vegas Sands is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.