Earnings Preview for Rockwell Automation

On Tuesday, January 26, Rockwell Automation ROK will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's outlook for Rockwell Automation is included in the following report.

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

Analysts covering Rockwell Automation modeled for quarterly EPS of $1.89 on revenue of $1.62 billion. In the same quarter last year, Rockwell Automation reported EPS of $2.11 on revenue of $1.69 billion.

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.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Tuesday, quarterly profit would be down 10.43%. Sales would be down 3.86% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation were trading at $266.12 as of January 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 34.73%. 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. Rockwell Automation is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.