A Preview Of CIT Group's Earnings

CIT Group CIT will be releasing its next round of earnings this Tuesday, January 26. For all of the relevant information, here is your guide for Tuesday's Q4 earnings announcement.

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

CIT Group earnings will be near $0.57 per share on sales of $451.85 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, CIT Group reported earnings per share of $1.27 on revenue of $461.10 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate, earnings would be down 55.12%. Sales would be down 2.01% from the same quarter last year. CIT Group's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of CIT Group were trading at $39.74 as of January 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 19.61%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

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