On Thursday, May 13, Brookfield Asset Mgmt (NYSE:BAM) will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

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

Wall Street expects EPS of $0.59 and sales around $10.89 billion. In the same quarter last year, Brookfield Asset Mgmt reported a loss per share of $0.2 on sales of $16.59 billion.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

If the company were to match the consensus estimate, earnings would be up 395.0%. Sales would be down 34.34% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the Brookfield Asset Mgmt's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Brookfield Asset Mgmt were trading at $45.81 as of May 11. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 49.54%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Brookfield Asset Mgmt is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.