A Preview Of Jack In The Box's Earnings

Jack In The Box JACK unveils its next round of earnings this Wednesday, May 12. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the 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

Based on management's projections, Jack In The Box analysts model for earnings of $1.29 per share on sales of $250.91 million. In the same quarter last year, Jack In The Box reported earnings per share of $0.5 on revenue of $216.16 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Wednesday, EPS would be up 158.0%. Revenue would be up 16.08% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Jack In The Box were trading at $122.64 as of May 10. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 91.33%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably happy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Jack In The Box is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.