Cognex Earnings Preview

On Thursday, February 11, Cognex CGNX will release its latest earnings report. Here is Benzinga's outlook for the company.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, And Earnings Per Share?

Earnings and EPS are useful metrics of profitability. Total earnings also known as net income is equal to total revenue minus total expenses. Dividing net income by the total number of shares outstanding yields EPS.

Earnings And Revenue

Cognex earnings will be near $0.28 per share on sales of $205.52 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Cognex reported EPS of $0.11 on revenue of $169.77 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 Thursday, EPS would be up 154.55%. Revenue would be up 21.06% 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 Cognex were trading at $88.98 as of February 09. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 66.52%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be satisfied going into this earnings release.

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