A Preview Of ManpowerGroup's Earnings

On Tuesday, February 02, ManpowerGroup MAN will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings release.

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

Sell-side analysts expect ManpowerGroup's EPS to be near $1.13 on sales of $4.76 billion. ManpowerGroup reported a per-share profit of $2.33 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $5.20 billion.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

Wall Street analysts who study this company will publish analyst estimates of revenue and EPS. The averages of all analyst EPS and revenue estimates are called the "consensus estimates"; these consensus estimates can have a significant effect on a company's performance during an earnings release. When a company posts earnings or revenue above or below a consensus estimate, it has posted an "earnings surprise", which can really move a stock depending on the difference between actual and estimated values.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Tuesday, earnings would be down 51.5%. Sales would be down 8.41% from the same quarter last year. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Over the past 52-week period, shares of ManpowerGroup have declined 6.12%. 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. ManpowerGroup is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.