Earnings Outlook for Arlington Asset

On Tuesday, February 16, Arlington Asset AAIC will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

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

Analysts covering Arlington Asset modeled for quarterly EPS of $0.04 on revenue of $2.64 million. In the same quarter last year, Arlington Asset posted EPS of $0.18 on sales of $7.04 million.

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.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 77.78% decline in the company's earnings. Revenue would be down 62.48% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the Arlington Asset's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the past 52-week period, shares of Arlington Asset have declined 39.12%. 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. Arlington Asset is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.