Earnings Preview for W.W. Grainger

On Friday, April 30, W.W. Grainger GWW will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings release.

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

Wall Street analysts see W.W. Grainger reporting earnings of $4.3 per share on revenue of $3.05 billion. In the same quarter last year, W.W. Grainger reported earnings per share of $4.24 on sales of $3.00 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Friday, EPS would be up 1.42%. Sales would be up 1.63% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the W.W. Grainger's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 59.53%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably relaxed going into this earnings release. Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. W.W. Grainger is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.