Earnings Outlook for Equifax

Equifax EFX announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, April 21. Here is Benzinga's look at Equifax'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

Based on Equifax management projections, analysts predict EPS of $1.53 on revenue of $1.12 billion. In the same quarter last year, Equifax reported earnings per share of $1.4 on revenue of $957.90 million.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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 9.29% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be have grown 16.92% from the same quarter last year. Equifax's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 43.85%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Equifax is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.