A Preview Of Wesbanco's Earnings

On Tuesday, January 26, Wesbanco WSBC 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 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

Wesbanco earnings will be near $0.61 per share on sales of $119.69 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Wesbanco reported EPS of $0.75 on revenue of $106.96 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 18.67% decrease in the company's earnings. Revenue would be have grown 11.9% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Wesbanco were trading at $31.65 as of January 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 11.54%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are likely unhappy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Wesbanco is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.