Earnings Outlook for Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty ULTA will be releasing its next round of earnings this Thursday, May 27. For all of the relevant information, here is your guide for Thursday's Q1 earnings announcement.

Net Income, Earnings, 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 analysts see Ulta Beauty reporting earnings of $1.93 per share on sales of $1.64 billion. Ulta Beauty EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $1.05. Sales were $1.17 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 283.81% increase for the company. Revenue would be up 39.79% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty were trading at $320.99 as of May 25. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 34.31%. 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. Ulta Beauty is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.