A Preview Of Zillow Group's Earnings

Zillow Group Z unveils its next round of earnings this Tuesday, May 04. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the 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

Analysts covering Zillow Group modeled for quarterly EPS of $0.24 on revenue of $1.10 billion. In the same quarter last year, Zillow Group reported EPS of $0.25 on revenue of $1.13 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 analyst consensus estimate would represent a 196.0% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would have fallen 2.31% from the same quarter last year. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 195.55%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably relaxed going into this earnings release. Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Zillow Group is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.