Acadia Healthcare Co (NASDAQ:ACHC) releases its next round of earnings this Thursday, February 25. Here is Benzinga's essential guide to Acadia Healthcare Co's Q4 earnings report.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Acadia Healthcare Co earnings will be near $0.66 per share on sales of $773.46 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Acadia Healthcare Co posted EPS of $0.51 on sales of $780.23 million.

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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Thursday, quarterly profit would be up 29.41%. Sales would be down 0.87% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares of Acadia Healthcare Co are up 69.07%.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Acadia Healthcare Co is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.