Earnings Outlook For Umpqua Holdings

On Wednesday, July 21, Umpqua Holdings UMPQ will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

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

Wall Street analysts see Umpqua Holdings reporting earnings of $0.44 per share on revenue of $311.37 million. In the same quarter last year, Umpqua Holdings posted EPS of $0.24 on sales of $327.98 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.

The Wall Street consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 83.33% increase for the company. Revenue would be down 5.07% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Umpqua Holdings were trading at $17.22 as of July 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 56.75%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Umpqua Holdings is scheduled to hold the call at 13:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.