Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) unveils its next round of earnings this Friday, February 19. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the earnings announcement.

Net Income, Earnings, 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 Balchem reporting earnings of $0.8 per share on sales of $175.33 million. In the same quarter last year, Balchem reported EPS of $0.88 on revenue of $166.53 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate, earnings would be down 9.09%. Sales would be have grown 5.29% from the same quarter last year. Balchem's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Balchem were trading at $116.32 as of February 17. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 13.1%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Balchem is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.