Earnings Outlook For Alimera Sciences

On Wednesday, April 28, Alimera Sciences ALIM will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

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

Alimera Sciences EPS will likely be near $0.54 while revenue will be around $12.07 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Alimera Sciences posted EPS of $0.24 on sales of $14.54 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.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Wednesday, quarterly profit would be down 125.0%. Revenue would have fallen 16.96% from the same quarter last year. The company'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 104.32%. 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. Alimera Sciences is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.