Earnings Outlook For Mercury General

On Tuesday, November 03, Mercury General MCY will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Analysts covering Mercury General modeled for quarterly EPS of $1.06 on revenue of $894.55 million. In the same quarter last year, Mercury General reported earnings per share of $0.78 on revenue of $987.29 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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 35.9% increase in the company's EPS figure. Revenue would be down 9.39% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the past 52-week period, shares of Mercury General have declined 16.1%.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Mercury General is scheduled to hold the call at 13:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.