Cal-Maine Foods's Earnings: A Preview

Cal-Maine Foods CALM releases its next round of earnings this Monday, July 19. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's Q4 earnings report.

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

Analysts covering Cal-Maine Foods modeled for quarterly EPS of $0.39 on revenue of $404.67 million. Cal-Maine Foods EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $1.24. Revenue was $453.33 million.

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 match the consensus estimate when it reports Monday, earnings would be down 68.55%. Revenue would have fallen 10.73% from the same quarter last year. Cal-Maine Foods's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods were trading at $36.34 as of July 15. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 16.55%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

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