Preview: AMC Networks's Earnings

AMC Networks AMCX announces its next round of earnings this Friday, February 26. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Friday's Q4 earnings announcement.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

AMC Networks earnings will be near $0.52 per share on sales of $705.01 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, AMC Networks reported EPS of $1.69 on revenue of $785.20 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 analyst consensus estimate would represent a 69.23% decrease in the company's earnings. Revenue would be down 10.21% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the AMC Networks's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 78.61%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can relax going into this earnings release. Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. AMC Networks is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.