Central Garden & Pet's Earnings: A Preview

Central Garden & Pet CENTA unveils its next round of earnings this Monday, November 23. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for Central Garden & Pet's Q4 earnings.

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 management's projections, Central Garden & Pet analysts modeled for a loss of $0.02 per share on sales of $600.20 million. Central Garden & Pet reported a profit of $0.04 per share when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $540.74 million.

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 analyst consensus estimate would represent a 150.0% decline in the company's EPS figure. Revenue would be up 11.0% from the year-ago period. Central Garden & Pet's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares of Central Garden & Pet are up 23.49%.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Central Garden & Pet is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.