Del Taco Restaurants's Earnings: A Preview

On Thursday, April 29, Del Taco Restaurants TACO will release its latest earnings report. Decipher the announcement with Benzinga's help.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Wall Street analysts see Del Taco Restaurants reporting earnings of $0.05 per share on sales of $115.06 million. In the same quarter last year, Del Taco Restaurants reported EPS of $0.01 on revenue of $109.81 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.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 600.0% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 4.78% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has compared to analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Del Taco Restaurants were trading at $11.56 as of April 27. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 95.24%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Del Taco Restaurants is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.