ICF International's Earnings: A Preview

ICF International ICFI announces its next round of earnings this Tuesday, May 04. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Tuesday's Q1 earnings announcement.

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

Wall Street analysts see ICF International reporting earnings of $0.86 per share on sales of $362.07 million. In the same quarter last year, ICF International posted EPS of $0.83 on sales of $358.24 million.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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, earnings would be up 3.61%. Revenue would be have grown 1.07% 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 ICF International were trading at $91.06 as of April 30. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 30.48%. 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. ICF International is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.