Earnings Outlook for Juniper Networks

On Tuesday, October 27, Juniper Networks JNPR will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's outlook for Juniper Networks is included in the following report.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Juniper Networks earnings will be near $0.43 per share on sales of $1.12 billion, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Juniper Networks reported earnings per share of $0.48 on revenue of $1.13 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.

If the company were to post earnings in line with the consensus estimate when it reports Tuesday, EPS would be down 10.42%. Revenue would be down 1.15% from the year-ago period. Here is how the Juniper Networks's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the past 52-week period, shares of Juniper Networks have declined 10.87%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Juniper Networks is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.