Benzinga | Feb 16, 2021 10:04AM EST

Earnings Outlook for iQIYI

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, February 17. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Wednesday's Q4 earnings announcement.

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 iQIYI reporting a loss of $0.38 per share on revenue of $1.16 billion. In the same quarter last year, iQIYI posted a loss of $0.49 per share on sales of $1.10 billion.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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 Wednesday, quarterly profit would be up 22.45%. Sales would be up 5.45% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate -0.40 -0.49 -0.56 -0.64EPS Actual -0.24 -0.28 -0.56 -0.49Revenue Estimate 1.09 B 1.05 B 1.03 B 993.53 MRevenue Actual 1.10 B 1.00 B 1.10 B 1.10 B

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 3.15%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. iQIYI is scheduled to hold the call at 19:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.