Earnings Outlook for Comtech Telecomms

Comtech Telecomms CMTL will be releasing its next round of earnings this Wednesday, December 09. For all of the relevant information, here is your guide for Wednesday's Q1 earnings announcement.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Comtech Telecomms EPS loss is expected to be around $1.78, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $124.91 million. In the same quarter last year, Comtech Telecomms reported earnings per share of $0.32 on revenue of $170.27 million.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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 a 656.25% decrease for the company. Sales would be down 26.64% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Comtech Telecomms were trading at $19.47 as of December 07. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 42.82%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are likely a little upset going into this earnings release.

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