Earnings Outlook For Paycom Software

Paycom Software PAYC announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, February 10. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Wednesday's Q4 earnings announcement.

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 Paycom Software's EPS to be near $0.79 on sales of $213.56 million. In the same quarter last year, Paycom Software reported earnings per share of $0.86 on revenue of $193.41 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Wednesday, EPS would have fallen 8.14%. Sales would be up 10.42% from the year-ago period. Paycom Software's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 45.09%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can relax going into this earnings release. Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement.

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