Preview: Cornerstone Building's Earnings

Cornerstone Building CNR unveils its next round of earnings this Tuesday, November 10. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the earnings announcement.

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

Cornerstone Building earnings will be near $0.3 per share on sales of $1.21 billion, according to analysts. Cornerstone Building reported a per-share profit of $0.3 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $1.28 billion.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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 Wall Street consensus estimate for earnings would represent no change for the company. Revenue would be down 5.84% on a year-over-year basis. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Cornerstone Building were trading at $8.08 as of November 06. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 37.98%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

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