Preview: Descartes Systems Gr's Earnings

On Wednesday, March 03, Descartes Systems Gr DSGX will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Analysts covering Descartes Systems Gr modeled for quarterly EPS of $0.16 on revenue of $89.47 million. Descartes Systems Gr reported a profit of $0.13 per share when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $84.20 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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 match the consensus estimate when it reports Wednesday, earnings would be up 23.08%. Revenue would be up 6.26% from the same quarter last year. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Stock Performance

Shares of Descartes Systems Gr were trading at $60.86 as of March 01. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 50.28%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be content going into this earnings release.

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