Benzinga | Apr 7, 2021 10:04AM EDT

A Preview Of Pricesmart's Earnings

On Thursday, April 08, Pricesmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) 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

Based on Pricesmart management projections, analysts predict EPS of $1.05 on revenue of $938.34 million. In the same quarter last year, Pricesmart reported earnings per share of $0.85 on sales of $906.74 million.

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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 23.53% increase in the company's EPS figure. Revenue would be up 3.49% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q1 2021 Q4 2020 Q3 2020 Q2 2020EPS Estimate 0.68 0.60 0.26 0.81EPS Actual 0.90 0.65 0.41 0.85Revenue Estimate 837.37 M 802.50 M 693.45 M 895.46 MRevenue Actual 877.43 M 810.58 M 799.93 M 906.74 M

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 49.56%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably relaxed going into this earnings release. Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Pricesmart is scheduled to hold the call at 12:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.