Earnings Preview: Aspen Technology

Aspen Technology AZPN releases its next round of earnings this Wednesday, April 28. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's Q3 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

Aspen Technology EPS will likely be near $1.11 while revenue will be around $169.39 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Aspen Technology reported earnings per share of $0.74 on sales of $132.03 million.

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.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Wednesday, quarterly profit would be up 50.0%. Revenue would be up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. Aspen Technology'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 48.46%. 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. Aspen Technology is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.