Earnings Preview: Autohome

On Thursday, May 27, Autohome ATHM will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

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

Autohome earnings will be near $0.93 per share on sales of $285.28 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Autohome announced EPS of $0.76 on revenue of $218.43 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.

If the company were to post earnings in line with the consensus estimate when it reports Thursday, EPS would be up 22.37%. Revenue would be up 30.61% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has compared to analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Autohome were trading at $77.34 as of May 25. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 2.05%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Autohome is scheduled to hold the call at 08:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.