Earnings Outlook for Discovery

Discovery DISCA announces its next round of earnings this Monday, February 22. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Monday'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

Discovery EPS will likely be near $0.72 while revenue will be around $2.83 billion, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Discovery posted EPS of $0.98 on sales of $2.87 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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 26.53% decrease in the company's earnings. Sales would be down 1.53% 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 Discovery were trading at $49.71 as of February 18. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 79.05%. 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. Discovery is scheduled to hold the call at 08:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.