Benzinga | May 18, 2021 10:05AM EDT

A Preview Of JD.com's Earnings

JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) unveils its next round of earnings this Wednesday, May 19. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for JD.com's Q1 earnings.

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

Based on JD.com management projections, analysts predict EPS of $0.38 on revenue of $29.67 billion. In the same quarter last year, JD.com reported earnings per share of $0.28 on sales of $20.65 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 match the consensus estimate, earnings would be up 35.71%. Sales would be up 43.69% from the year-ago period. JD.com's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this: Quarter Q4 2021 Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020EPS Estimate 0.19 0.4 0.38 0.11EPS Actual 0.23 0.5 0.50 0.28Revenue Estimate 33.78 B 25.70 B 27.45 B 19.29 BRevenue Actual 34.38 B 25.66 B 28.46 B 20.65 B

Stock Performance

Shares of JD.com were trading at $68.21 as of May 17. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 28.1%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. JD.com is scheduled to hold the call at 07:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.