Lakeland Financial's Earnings: A Preview

On Monday, January 25, Lakeland Financial LKFN will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Based on Lakeland Financial management projections, analysts predict EPS of $0.8 on revenue of $53.60 million. Lakeland Financial earnings in the same period a year ago was $0.86 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $50.00 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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 6.98% decline in the company's EPS figure. Sales would be up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Lakeland Financial's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares of Lakeland Financial are up 21.86%.

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