Genuine Parts's Earnings Outlook

On Thursday, April 22, Genuine Parts GPC will release its latest earnings report. Decipher the announcement with Benzinga's help.

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

Genuine Parts EPS is expected to be around $1.14, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $4.30 billion. In the same quarter last year, Genuine Parts posted EPS of $0.92 on sales of $4.56 billion.

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.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 23.91% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would have fallen 5.7% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts were trading at $119.24 as of April 20. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 64.99%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably happy going into this earnings release.

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