H.B. Fuller's Earnings Outlook

On Wednesday, March 24, H.B. Fuller FUL will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

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 covering H.B. Fuller modeled for quarterly EPS of $0.47 on revenue of $680.10 million. In the same quarter last year, H.B. Fuller posted EPS of $0.34 on sales of $646.56 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate, earnings would be up 38.24%. Sales would be up 5.19% 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

Shares of H.B. Fuller were trading at $59.53 as of March 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 114.32%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. H.B. Fuller is scheduled to hold the call at 10:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.