Booz Allen Hamilton Earnings Preview

Booz Allen Hamilton BAH announces its next round of earnings this Friday, May 21. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Friday's Q4 earnings announcement.

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 management's projections, Booz Allen Hamilton analysts model for earnings of $0.82 per share on sales of $2.00 billion. Booz Allen Hamilton EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.73. Revenue was $1.97 billion.

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 12.33% increase for the company. Revenue would be have grown 1.52% from the same quarter last year. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Stock Performance

Shares of Booz Allen Hamilton were trading at $81.34 as of May 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 8.03%. 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. Booz Allen Hamilton is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.