Preview: Applied DNA Sciences's Earnings

Applied DNA Sciences APDN announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, May 13. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's Q2 earnings announcement.

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

Based on management's projections, Applied DNA Sciences analysts modeled for a loss of $0.21 per share on sales of $2.60 million. In the same quarter last year, Applied DNA Sciences announced EPS of $0.79 on revenue of $552.47 thousand.

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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Thursday, EPS would be up 73.42%. Sales would be up 370.61% 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

Shares of Applied DNA Sciences were trading at $6.67 as of May 11. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 54.96%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably down going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Applied DNA Sciences is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.