O'Reilly Automotive Earnings Preview

On Wednesday, April 28, O'Reilly Automotive ORLY will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

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 covering O'Reilly Automotive modeled for quarterly EPS of $5.35 on revenue of $2.85 billion. In the same quarter last year, O'Reilly Automotive reported earnings per share of $3.97 on revenue of $2.48 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 estimate would represent a 34.76% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 15.11% on a year-over-year basis. O'Reilly Automotive's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of O'Reilly Automotive were trading at $526.19 as of April 26. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 35.44%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably happy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. O'Reilly Automotive is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.