Preview: Construction Partners's Earnings

On Friday, December 11, Construction Partners ROAD will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

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

Construction Partners earnings will be near $0.3 per share on sales of $243.20 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Construction Partners announced EPS of $0.32 on revenue of $237.32 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.

If the company were to post earnings in line with the consensus estimate when it reports Friday, EPS would be down 6.25%. Revenue would be up 2.48% from the year-ago period. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Construction Partners were trading at $28.92 as of December 09. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 68.34%. 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. Construction Partners is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.