Earnings Preview: Costco Wholesale

On Thursday, March 04, Costco Wholesale COST will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

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

Analysts expect Costco Wholesale earnings of $2.45 per share. Revenue will likely be around $43.78 billion, according to the consensus estimate. In the same quarter last year, Costco Wholesale posted EPS of $2.1 on sales of $39.07 billion.

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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Thursday, quarterly profit would be up 16.67%. Sales would be up 12.05% from the same quarter last year. 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 Costco Wholesale are up 3.24%.

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