Earnings Preview: Bio-Rad Laboratories

Bio-Rad Laboratories BIO unveils its next round of earnings this Thursday, February 11. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for Bio-Rad Laboratories's Q4 earnings.

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

Bio-Rad Laboratories EPS is expected to be around $3.29, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $686.80 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories earnings in the same period a year ago was $2.32 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $624.43 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 post earnings in line with the consensus estimate when it reports Thursday, EPS would be up 41.81%. Revenue would be up 9.99% from the year-ago period. Bio-Rad Laboratories's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories were trading at $636.46 as of February 09. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 69.52%. 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. Bio-Rad Laboratories is scheduled to hold the call at 18:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.