Preview: Graco's Earnings

Graco GGG unveils its next round of earnings this Wednesday, July 21. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for Graco's Q2 earnings.

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 Graco reporting earnings of $0.6 per share on sales of $475.94 million. Graco earnings in the same period a year ago was $0.37 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $366.89 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 Wednesday, EPS would be up 62.16%. Sales would be have grown 29.72% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Graco were trading at $75.6 as of July 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 46.58%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably happy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Graco is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.