Earnings Preview For Nasdaq

On Wednesday, July 21, Nasdaq NDAQ will release its latest earnings report. Decipher the announcement with Benzinga's help.

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

Nasdaq earnings will be near $1.7 per share on sales of $810.54 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Nasdaq reported earnings per share of $1.54 on revenue of $699.00 million.

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

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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 10.39% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be up 15.96% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Nasdaq were trading at $177.15 as of July 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 33.92%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

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