Applied Materials Earnings Preview

On Thursday, February 18, Applied Materials AMAT 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

Analysts expect Applied Materials earnings of $1.28 per share. Revenue will likely be around $4.97 billion, according to the consensus estimate. In the same quarter last year, Applied Materials reported earnings per share of $0.98 on revenue of $4.16 billion.

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 Thursday, EPS would be up 30.61%. Sales would be up 19.41% on a year-over-year basis. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials were trading at $118.35 as of February 16. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 74.62%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably happy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Applied Materials is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.