Preview: Brookdale Senior Living's Earnings

On Wednesday, November 04, Brookdale Senior Living BKD 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

Brookdale Senior Living EPS will likely be near $0.28 while revenue will be around $841.25 million, according to analysts. Brookdale Senior Living EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.42. Sales were $1.01 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 Wall Street estimate would represent a 33.33% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be down 16.63% from the same quarter last year. Brookdale Senior Living's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Brookdale Senior Living were trading at $3.08 as of November 02. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 56.12%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably unhappy going into this earnings release.

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