Trade Desk's Earnings Outlook

Trade Desk TTD announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, February 18. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's Q4 earnings announcement.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Wall Street analysts see Trade Desk reporting earnings of $1.88 per share on revenue of $292.36 million. In the same quarter last year, Trade Desk reported earnings per share of $1.49 on sales of $215.94 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, earnings would be up 26.17%. Revenue would be up 35.39% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has compared to analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Trade Desk were trading at $868.98 as of February 16. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 174.21%. 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. Trade Desk is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.