Earnings Preview for Global Payments

Global Payments GPN announces its next round of earnings this Tuesday, May 04. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Tuesday's Q1 earnings announcement.

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

Sell-side analysts expect Global Payments's EPS to be near $1.78 on sales of $1.77 billion. In the same quarter last year, Global Payments reported earnings per share of $1.58 on sales of $1.73 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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Tuesday, earnings would be up 12.66%. Revenue would be up 2.37% from the same quarter last year. Global Payments's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Global Payments were trading at $215.02 as of April 30. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 29.15%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be content going into this earnings release.

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