Chico's FAS's Earnings: A Preview

Chico's FAS CHS unveils its next round of earnings this Tuesday, March 02. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the earnings announcement.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Sell-side analysts are expecting Chico's FAS's loss per share to be near $0.32 on sales of $447.60 million. Chico's FAS EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.03. Sales were $527.09 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 match the consensus estimate when it reports Tuesday, earnings would be down 966.67%. Revenue would be down 15.08% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has compared to analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Chico's FAS were trading at $2.685 as of February 26. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 20.55%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are likely a little upset going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Chico's FAS is scheduled to hold the call at 08:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.