Earnings Preview: Moelis & Co

Moelis & Co MC announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, July 21. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Wednesday's Q2 earnings announcement.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, And Earnings Per Share?

Earnings and EPS are useful metrics of profitability. Total earnings also known as net income is equal to total revenue minus total expenses. Dividing net income by the total number of shares outstanding yields EPS.

Earnings And Revenue

Moelis & Co EPS is expected to be around $0.8, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $262.52 million. Moelis & Co reported a per-share loss of $0.11 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $159.94 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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Wednesday, quarterly profit would be up 827.27%. Sales would be up 64.14% on a year-over-year basis. Moelis & Co's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Moelis & Co were trading at $52.9 as of July 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 74.75%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Moelis & Co is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.