Preview: Lamb Weston Holdings's Earnings

On Thursday, January 07, Lamb Weston Holdings LW will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings release.

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

Wall Street expects EPS of $0.62 and sales around $876.79 million. In the same quarter last year, Lamb Weston Holdings reported EPS of $0.95 on revenue of $1.02 billion.

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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Thursday, EPS would have fallen 34.74%. Revenue would be down 13.96% from the year-ago period. Here is how the Lamb Weston Holdings's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings were trading at $75.48 as of January 05. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 15.74%. 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. Lamb Weston Holdings is scheduled to hold the call at 10:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.