Aflac's Earnings Outlook

Aflac AFL releases its next round of earnings this Wednesday, April 28. Here is Benzinga's essential guide to Aflac's Q1 earnings report.

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

Analysts predict Aflac will report earnings of $1.21 per share on revenue of $5.54 billion. Aflac EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $1.21. Revenue was $5.16 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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 0% decrease in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 7.32% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares of Aflac are up 36.28%.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Aflac is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.