Western Alliance Bancorp's Earnings: A Preview

Western Alliance Bancorp WAL unveils its next round of earnings this Thursday, July 15. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for Western Alliance Bancorp's Q2 earnings.

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

Western Alliance Bancorp earnings will be near $1.96 per share on sales of $494.03 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Western Alliance Bancorp reported EPS of $0.93 on revenue of $319.67 million.

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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 110.75% increase in the company's EPS figure. Revenue would be up 54.54% on a year-over-year basis. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 165.23%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can relax 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. Western Alliance Bancorp is scheduled to hold the call at 12:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.