Earnings Preview: Capstead Mortgage

Capstead Mortgage CMO announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, October 28. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Wednesday's Q3 earnings announcement.

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

Capstead Mortgage EPS will likely be near $0.18 while revenue will be around $43.43 million, according to analysts. Capstead Mortgage reported a per-share profit of $0.11 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $78.76 million.

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

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 match the consensus estimate, earnings would be up 63.64%. Sales would have fallen 44.86% from the same quarter last year. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Stock Performance

Over the past 52-week period, shares of Capstead Mortgage have declined 27.2%.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Capstead Mortgage is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.