Teradyne's Earnings: A Preview

Teradyne TER announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, January 27. Here is Benzinga's look at Teradyne's Q4 earnings report.

Net Income, Earnings, 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 Teradyne management projections, analysts predict EPS of $1.01 on revenue of $721.14 million. Teradyne EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.88. Revenue was $654.65 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 14.77% increase in the company's EPS figure. Sales would be have grown 10.16% 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 Teradyne were trading at $140.11 as of January 25. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 99.91%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Teradyne is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.