Autoliv's Earnings: A Preview

Autoliv ALV announces its next round of earnings this Friday, April 23. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Friday's Q1 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

Sell-side analysts expect Autoliv's EPS to be near $1.43 on sales of $2.18 billion. Autoliv EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.88. Sales were $1.85 billion.

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 Friday, earnings would be up 62.5%. Sales would be up 18.09% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Autoliv were trading at $97.63 as of April 21. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 63.21%. 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. Autoliv is scheduled to hold the call at 08:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.