Big Lots's Earnings: A Preview

Big Lots BIG unveils its next round of earnings this Friday, December 04. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for Big Lots's Q3 earnings.

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 Big Lots modeled for quarterly EPS of $0.66 on revenue of $1.35 billion. Big Lots reported a per-share loss of $0.18 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $1.17 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 consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 466.67% increase for the company. Sales would be up 15.58% 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 Big Lots were trading at $52.46 as of December 02. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 106.86%. 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. Big Lots is scheduled to hold the call at 08:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.