Preview: Amedisys's Earnings

On Wednesday, February 24, Amedisys AMED will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings 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 analysts see Amedisys reporting earnings of $1.47 per share on revenue of $553.37 million. In the same quarter last year, Amedisys reported earnings per share of $0.94 on revenue of $500.68 million.

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 match the consensus estimate when it reports Wednesday, earnings would be up 56.38%. Sales would be up 10.52% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Amedisys were trading at $284.6 as of February 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 50.24%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably happy going into this earnings release.

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