Fortive's Earnings: A Preview

Fortive FTV releases its next round of earnings this Thursday, July 29. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's Q2 earnings report.

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

Fortive EPS is expected to be around $0.59, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $1.28 billion. Fortive EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.68. Sales were $1.57 billion.

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.

The Wall Street consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 13.24% decrease for the company. Revenue would be down 18.52% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Want Real-Time Earnings Calendar Updates?

Benzinga consistently updates its earnings calendars to stay up-to-date with the latest company earnings reports. Check out the full earnings calendar list updated in real-time by following this link.

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 14.16%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can relax going into this earnings release. Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Fortive is scheduled to hold the call at 17:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.