A Preview Of Steelcase's Earnings

Steelcase SCS announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, December 17. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's Q3 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

Analysts expect Steelcase earnings of $0.03 per share. Revenue will likely be around $628.80 million, according to the consensus estimate. Steelcase EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.46. Revenue was $955.20 million.

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 analyst consensus estimate would represent a 93.48% decline in the company's EPS figure. Sales would be down 34.17% 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 Steelcase were trading at $13.75 as of December 15. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 35.61%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably unhappy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Steelcase is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.