Earnings Outlook For Veeva Systems

Veeva Systems VEEV will be releasing its next round of earnings this Thursday, May 27. For all of the relevant information, here is your guide for Thursday's Q1 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

Wall Street expects EPS of $0.78 and sales around $410.03 million. Veeva Systems reported a per-share profit of $0.66 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $337.11 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 post earnings in line with the consensus estimate when it reports Thursday, EPS would be up 18.18%. Sales would be have grown 21.63% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Veeva Systems were trading at $264.66 as of May 25. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 29.48%. 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. Veeva Systems is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.