Earnings Preview: Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials EXP announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, May 19. Here is Benzinga's look at Eagle Materials's Q4 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

Based on Eagle Materials management projections, analysts predict EPS of $1.23 on revenue of $333.59 million. Eagle Materials earnings in the same period a year ago was $1.28 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $315.44 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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 analyst consensus estimate would represent a 3.91% decrease in the company's earnings. Sales would be have grown 5.75% 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 Eagle Materials were trading at $151.68 as of May 17. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 142.29%. 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. Eagle Materials is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.