Rent-A-Center's Earnings Outlook

Rent-A-Center RCII unveils its next round of earnings this Wednesday, February 24. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for Rent-A-Center's Q4 earnings.

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

Rent-A-Center earnings will be near $1.0 per share on sales of $714.41 million, according to analysts. Rent-A-Center earnings in the same period a year ago was $0.58 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $667.86 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 consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 72.41% increase for the company. Sales would be up 6.97% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Rent-A-Center were trading at $54.5 as of February 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 126.72%. 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. Rent-A-Center is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.