A Preview Of Lincoln Educational Servs's Earnings

Lincoln Educational Servs LINC unveils its next round of earnings this Monday, May 10. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for Lincoln Educational Servs's Q1 earnings.

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

Wall Street expects EPS of $0.1 and sales around $76.83 million. Lincoln Educational Servs reported a per-share loss of $0.08 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $70.04 million.

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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Monday, EPS would be up 225.0%. Sales would be up 9.69% from the year-ago period. Lincoln Educational Servs's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln Educational Servs were trading at $6.89 as of May 06. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 182.72%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Lincoln Educational Servs is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.