A Preview Of AbbVie's Earnings

AbbVie ABBV unveils its next round of earnings this Friday, April 30. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for AbbVie's Q1 earnings.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Sell-side analysts expect AbbVie's EPS to be near $2.83 on sales of $12.76 billion. AbbVie EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $2.42. Revenue was $8.62 billion.

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.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 16.94% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be up 48.05% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the AbbVie's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie were trading at $111.88 as of April 28. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 35.92%. 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. AbbVie is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.