Earnings Outlook For Capitala Finance

Capitala Finance CPTA announces its next round of earnings this Monday, May 03. Here is Benzinga's look at Capitala Finance'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, Capitala Finance analysts model for earnings of $0.18 per share on sales of $6.40 million. In the same quarter last year, Capitala Finance posted EPS of $0.0 on sales of $7.07 million.

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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Monday, earnings would be down 0%. Revenue would be down 9.53% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the Capitala Finance's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the past 52-week period, shares of Capitala Finance have declined 6.56%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Capitala Finance is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.