State Street Earnings Preview

State Street STT unveils its next round of earnings this Friday, July 16. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the 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

Sell-side analysts expect State Street's EPS to be near $1.76 on sales of $2.92 billion. State Street EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $1.88. Sales were $2.94 billion.

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.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Friday, earnings would be down 6.38%. Revenue would be down 0.58% from the same quarter last year. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of State Street were trading at $82.47 as of July 14. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 32.3%. 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. State Street is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.