Earnings Preview for Acadia Healthcare Co

On Thursday, April 29, Acadia Healthcare Co ACHC will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's outlook for Acadia Healthcare Co is included in the following 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 Acadia Healthcare Co management projections, analysts predict EPS of $0.45 on revenue of $545.24 million. In the same quarter last year, Acadia Healthcare Co posted EPS of $0.42 on sales of $782.81 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate, earnings would be up 7.14%. Revenue would be down 30.35% on a year-over-year basis. Acadia Healthcare Co's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Acadia Healthcare Co were trading at $61.36 as of April 27. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 155.27%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Acadia Healthcare Co is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.