A Preview Of Renewable Energy Group's Earnings

Renewable Energy Group REGI announces its next round of earnings this Monday, May 03. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Monday's Q1 earnings announcement.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Sell-side analysts expect Renewable Energy Group's EPS to be near $0.19 on sales of $535.26 million. In the same quarter last year, Renewable Energy Group reported EPS of $1.72 on revenue of $474.67 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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Monday, quarterly profit would be down 88.95%. Revenue would be up 12.76% from the year-ago period. Renewable Energy Group's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Renewable Energy Group were trading at $55.47 as of April 29. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 130.57%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be satisfied going into this earnings release.

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