Earnings Preview for Luna Innovations

Luna Innovations LUNA announces its next round of earnings this Monday, May 17. Here is Benzinga's look at Luna Innovations's Q1 earnings report.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Analysts predict Luna Innovations will report earnings of $0.05 per share on revenue of $26.91 million. In the same quarter last year, Luna Innovations posted EPS of $0.01 on sales of $17.14 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.

The Wall Street consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 400.0% increase for the company. Sales would be up 56.99% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 93.57%. 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. Luna Innovations is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.