Southwest Airlines's Earnings Outlook

On Thursday, April 22, Southwest Airlines LUV will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings 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 are expecting Southwest Airlines to report a loss of $1.85 per share. Revenue will likely be around $2.07 billion, according to the consensus estimate. In the same quarter last year, Southwest Airlines reported EPS of $0.15 on revenue of $4.23 billion.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

Wall Street analysts who study this company will publish analyst estimates of revenue and EPS. The averages of all analyst EPS and revenue estimates are called the "consensus estimates"; these consensus estimates can have a significant effect on a company's performance during an earnings release. When a company posts earnings or revenue above or below a consensus estimate, it has posted an "earnings surprise", which can really move a stock depending on the difference between actual and estimated values.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Thursday, EPS would have fallen 1133.33%. Revenue would be down 51.11% from the year-ago period. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares of Southwest Airlines are up 100.84%.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Southwest Airlines is scheduled to hold the call at 12:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.