Earnings Preview for The Shyft Group

The Shyft Group SHYF announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, March 11. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday'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

Based on management's projections, The Shyft Group analysts model for earnings of $0.26 per share on sales of $170.49 million. The Shyft Group reported a profit of $0.47 per share when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $179.96 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.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 44.68% decline in the company's earnings. Revenue would be down 5.26% 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

Shares of The Shyft Group were trading at $34.28 as of March 09. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 202.27%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be satisfied going into this earnings release.

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