Restaurant Brands Intl's Earnings: A Preview

On Friday, April 30, Restaurant Brands Intl QSR 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 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 Restaurant Brands Intl reporting earnings of $0.56 per share on sales of $1.15 billion. Restaurant Brands Intl reported a profit of $0.48 per share when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $1.23 billion.

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.

The Wall Street consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 16.67% increase for the company. Sales would have fallen 6.12% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the Restaurant Brands Intl's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 41.56%. 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. Restaurant Brands Intl is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.