A Preview Of Intel's Earnings

On Thursday, April 22, Intel INTC will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

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

Analysts expect Intel earnings of $1.15 per share. Revenue will likely be around $17.86 billion, according to the consensus estimate. In the same quarter last year, Intel reported earnings per share of $1.45 on revenue of $19.83 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.

The Wall Street consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 20.69% decrease for the company. Sales would be down 9.93% from the same quarter last year. Intel's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Intel were trading at $62.7 as of April 20. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 6.47%. 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. Intel is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.