A Preview Of Bio-Rad Laboratories's Earnings

On Thursday, April 29, Bio-Rad Laboratories BIO will release its latest earnings report. Here is Benzinga's outlook for the company.

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 management's projections, Bio-Rad Laboratories analysts model for earnings of $3.0 per share on sales of $660.98 million. In the same quarter last year, Bio-Rad Laboratories reported EPS of $1.91 on revenue of $571.64 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 Thursday, quarterly profit would be up 57.07%. Revenue would be have grown 15.63% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories were trading at $649.15 as of April 27. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 45.61%. 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. Bio-Rad Laboratories is scheduled to hold the call at 18:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.