Dollar General Earnings Preview

Dollar General DG announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, May 27. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's Q1 earnings announcement.

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

Wall Street expects EPS of $2.19 and sales around $8.28 billion. Dollar General reported a per-share profit of $2.56 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $8.45 billion.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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 estimate would represent a 14.45% decline in the company's earnings. Sales would be down 1.99% on a year-over-year basis. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Dollar General were trading at $198.87 as of May 25. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 9.14%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be satisfied going into this earnings release.

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