Workday's Earnings: A Preview

Workday WDAY announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, August 26. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday'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

Sell-side analysts expect Workday's EPS to be near $0.78 on sales of $1.24 billion. In the same quarter last year, Workday reported earnings per share of $0.84 on sales of $1.06 billion.

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 Wall Street estimate would represent a 7.14% decline in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 16.76% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the Workday'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 13.36%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Workday is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.