Sonoco Products's Earnings Outlook

On Thursday, April 22, Sonoco Products SON will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Wall Street analysts see Sonoco Products reporting earnings of $0.85 per share on sales of $1.33 billion. In the same quarter last year, Sonoco Products reported earnings per share of $0.94 on revenue of $1.30 billion.

Related content: Benzinga's Full Earnings Calendar 

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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 when it reports Thursday, earnings would be down 9.57%. Sales would be up 2.07% on a year-over-year basis. Sonoco Products's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products were trading at $64.47 as of April 20. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 38.62%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

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