Earnings Preview for Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies DELL announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, February 25. 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 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

Dell Technologies EPS is expected to be around $2.14, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $24.48 billion. Dell Technologies EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $2.0. Sales were $24.13 billion.

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 7.0% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 1.45% from the same quarter last year. Dell Technologies's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Dell Technologies were trading at $80.63 as of February 23. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 85.65%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Dell Technologies is scheduled to hold the call at 17:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.