Earnings Outlook for Alaska Air Group

On Thursday, October 22, Alaska Air Group ALK will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings release.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Based on Alaska Air Group management projections, analysts predict EPS of $3.01 on revenue of $678.20 million. In the same quarter last year, Alaska Air Group reported earnings per share of $2.63 on sales of $2.39 billion.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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 214.45% decline in the company's EPS figure. Revenue would be down 71.61% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group were trading at $39.94 as of October 20. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 43.02%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably down going into this earnings release.