A Preview Of BlackRock Capital Inv's Earnings

BlackRock Capital Inv BKCC announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, March 03. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Wednesday'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

Wall Street analysts see BlackRock Capital Inv reporting earnings of $0.1 per share on sales of $15.83 million. In the same quarter last year, BlackRock Capital Inv posted EPS of $0.14 on sales of $19.19 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 estimate would represent a 28.57% decline in the company's earnings. Revenue would be down 17.51% on a year-over-year basis. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock Capital Inv were trading at $3.26 as of March 01. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 31.45%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably upset going into this earnings release.

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