Earnings Preview: Chevron EPS, Revenue Expected to Rise from Previous Quarter

Chevron CVX releases its next round of earnings this Friday, July 29, 2011. Here's Benzinga's essential guide to Chevron's second quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Analysts are predicting an EPS reading of $3.53 per share and revenues of $71.58 billion. Investors will be keen to see how this quarter's numbers stack up against the year-ago quarter's positive EPS of $2.70 per share on revenues of $51.05 billion. We'll have to wait for Friday to see if Chevron falls in line with analyst expectations and reports an estimated increase in both EPS and revenue from the year-ago quarter.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q1	Q4	Q3	Q2
EPS Estimate	$2.99	$2.38	$2.15	$2.43
EPS Actual	$3.09	$2.52	$1.87	$2.70

Stock Performance:

At last check, shares of Chevron were trading at $108.10. Shares are up 20.3% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 33.7%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Chevron is a Moderate Buy. Over the past three months this rating's strength has declined slightly.

Competitors:

Wondering how Chevron compares to rivals in the same sector? Here are a few of the company's peers.

• ConocoPhillips COP: Hold with a $1.82 recent quarter EPS
• Hess HES: Moderate Buy with a $1.82 recent quarter EPS
• Marathon Oil MRO: Hold with a $1.65 recent quarter EPS
• Suncor Energy (SU): Moderate Buy with a $1.09 recent quarter EPS

The integrated oil-international company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 1.7% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Chevron provides management and technology support to international subsidiaries that operate petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation and energy services.

Take Action:

Now that you're fully prepared, get ready to take quick action if the company reports any numbers significantly different from those listed above. Also, check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap and what-to-do-next guide.

• To see up-to-date news on Chevron, click here
• To see other trading ideas, click here
• To see other company earnings recaps, click here