Benzinga | May 4, 2021 10:30AM EDT

Earnings Preview for Qualys

On Wednesday, May 05, Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

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

Analysts covering Qualys modeled for quarterly EPS of $0.68 on revenue of $95.19 million. In the same quarter last year, Qualys posted EPS of $0.65 on sales of $86.26 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.

If the company were to post earnings in line with the consensus estimate when it reports Wednesday, EPS would be up 4.62%. Revenue would be up 10.35% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the Qualys's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past: Quarter Q4 2021 Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020EPS Estimate 0.70 0.67 0.63 0.60EPS Actual 0.71 0.77 0.74 0.65Revenue Estimate 94.62 M 91.97 M 88.15 M 85.75 MRevenue Actual 94.80 M 93.07 M 88.83 M 86.26 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Qualys were trading at $99.385 as of May 03. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 8.66%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are likely unhappy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Qualys is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.