Earnings Outlook For AutoZone

On Tuesday, May 25, AutoZone AZO will release its latest earnings report. Decipher the announcement with Benzinga's help.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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 expect AutoZone earnings of $20.14 per share. Revenue will likely be around $3.26 billion, according to the consensus estimate. AutoZone earnings in the same period a year ago was $14.39 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $2.78 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate, earnings would be up 39.96%. Revenue would be up 17.31% from the same quarter last year. AutoZone's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone were trading at $1460.26 as of May 21. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 29.4%. 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. AutoZone is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.