Preview: Comfort Systems USA's Earnings

Comfort Systems USA FIX releases its next round of earnings this Wednesday, April 28. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's Q1 earnings report.

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

Wall Street analysts see Comfort Systems USA reporting earnings of $0.6 per share on sales of $691.52 million. In the same quarter last year, Comfort Systems USA reported earnings per share of $0.48 on sales of $700.13 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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 25.0% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be down 1.23% 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 Comfort Systems USA were trading at $81.86 as of April 26. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 129.37%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Comfort Systems USA is scheduled to hold the call at 11:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.