Earnings Preview for Installed Building Prods

On Friday, May 07, Installed Building Prods IBP will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

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

Based on management's projections, Installed Building Prods analysts model for earnings of $1.02 per share on sales of $447.47 million. Installed Building Prods reported a per-share profit of $0.78 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $397.33 million.

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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Friday, earnings would be up 30.77%. Revenue would be up 12.62% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Installed Building Prods were trading at $138.73 as of May 05. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 148.5%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Installed Building Prods is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.