Earnings Outlook for Ross Stores

Ross Stores ROST unveils its next round of earnings this Thursday, November 19. 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

Wall Street analysts see Ross Stores reporting earnings of $0.6 per share on sales of $3.42 billion. In the same quarter last year, Ross Stores reported earnings per share of $1.03 on revenue of $3.85 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.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Thursday, earnings would be down 41.75%. Revenue would be down 11.15% on a year-over-year basis. Ross Stores's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores were trading at $110.46 as of November 17. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 2.19%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Ross Stores is scheduled to hold the call at 16:15:00 ET and can be accessed here.