Meta Financial Group's Earnings: A Preview

Meta Financial Group CASH will be releasing its next round of earnings this Wednesday, October 28. For all of the relevant information, here is your guide for Wednesday's Q4 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

Based on Meta Financial Group management projections, analysts predict EPS of $0.18 on revenue of $96.68 million. In the same quarter last year, Meta Financial Group reported EPS of $0.53 on revenue of $101.60 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.

If the company were to post earnings in line with the consensus estimate when it reports Wednesday, EPS would be down 66.04%. Sales would be down 4.84% on a year-over-year basis. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Financial Group were trading at $24.32 as of October 26. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 23.98%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably down going into this earnings release.

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