Capital One Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Rising Revenue, Falling EPS - Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Capital One COF unveils its next round of earnings this Thursday, October 20, 2011. Here's Benzinga's advanced look at Capital One's third quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Based on estimates, investors are readying for a positive EPS reading of $1.69/share and revenues of $4.05 billion. Capital One's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of $1.79/share on revenues of $4.02 billion. We'll have to wait for Thursday to see if Capital One reports a decline in EPS and a small boost in revenue from the year-ago quarter, as analysts are predicting.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
EPS Estimate	$1.67	$1.53	$1.35	$1.12
EPS Actual	$2.04	$2.24	$1.53	$1.79

Stock Performance:

Shares of Capital One were trading at $42.06 as of October 14, 2011. Shares are down 0.9% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 11.4%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Capital One is a Moderate Buy. The strength of this rating has risen over the past three months.

Competitors:

Looking for a sympathy stock to trade or interested in the performance of other companies in the same sector? Take a look at some of Capital One's peers.

American Express Company AXP: Moderate Buy with a $1.07 recent quarter EPS
Bank of America BAC: Hold with a -$0.90 recent quarter EPS
Citigroup C: Moderate Buy with a $1.09 recent quarter EPS
Discover Financial Services DFS: Moderate Buy with a $1.18 recent quarter EPS

Capital One is in the financial consultation and loans industry, which has experienced price/earnings growth of 0.7%.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Capital One Financial is a financial services company that markets a variety of financial products and services through its banking and non-banking subsidiaries.

Take Action:

There is your peek into Capital One's upcoming earnings numbers, including some competitors to watch around the time of the announcement. Check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap. In the meantime, here are some links to explore today.

To see up-to-date news on Capital One, click here
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To see other company earnings recaps, click here

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