Earnings Preview for Axis Capital Holdings

Axis Capital Holdings AXS releases its next round of earnings this Wednesday, April 28. Here is Benzinga's essential guide to Axis Capital Holdings'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

Axis Capital Holdings EPS is expected to be around $0.44, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $1.51 billion. Axis Capital Holdings reported a loss of $1.94 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $1.11 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 Wall Street estimate would represent a 122.68% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 36.04% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has compared to analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 43.59%. 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. Axis Capital Holdings is scheduled to hold the call at 09:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.