Harsco (NYSE:HSC) will be releasing its next round of earnings this Tuesday, May 04. For all of the relevant information, here is your guide for Tuesday's Q1 earnings announcement.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Harsco EPS is expected to be around $0.04, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $514.94 million. Harsco EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.16. Sales were $398.84 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 consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 75.0% decrease for the company. Sales would be have grown 29.11% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Harsco were trading at $17.89 as of April 30. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 118.24%. 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. Harsco is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.