Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, April 29. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's Q2 earnings announcement.

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

Helmerich & Payne's per-share loss will be near $0.64 on sales of $294.15 million, according to Wall Street analysts. In the same quarter last year, Helmerich & Payne posted a loss of $0.01 per share on sales of $633.64 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 6300.0% decrease in the company's earnings. Sales would be down 53.58% from the same quarter last year. Helmerich & Payne'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 29.44%. 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. Helmerich & Payne is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.