A Preview Of Lockheed Martin's Earnings

Lockheed Martin LMT releases its next round of earnings this Tuesday, April 20. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's Q1 earnings report.

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, Lockheed Martin analysts model for earnings of $6.3 per share on sales of $16.33 billion. Lockheed Martin reported a per-share profit of $6.08 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $15.65 billion.

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 analyst consensus estimate would represent a 3.62% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 4.34% 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

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 4.44%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Lockheed Martin is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.