Preview: Alteryx's Earnings

Alteryx AYX releases its next round of earnings this Tuesday, February 09. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's Q4 earnings 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

Sell-side analysts expect Alteryx's EPS to be near $0.31 on sales of $152.10 million. In the same quarter last year, Alteryx reported earnings per share of $0.64 on revenue of $156.45 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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 match the consensus estimate when it reports Tuesday, EPS would have fallen 51.56%. Revenue would be down 2.78% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Alteryx were trading at $133.38 as of February 05. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 4.23%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably down going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Alteryx is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.