Benzinga | Oct 28, 2020 10:10AM EDT

Acadia Healthcare Co's Earnings: A Preview

Acadia Healthcare Co (NASDAQ: ACHC) announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, October 29. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's Q3 earnings announcement.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Analysts covering Acadia Healthcare Co modeled for quarterly EPS of $0.54 on revenue of $800.24 million. Acadia Healthcare Co EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.52. Sales were $777.25 million.

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

Analysts who cover this company will publish forward-looking estimates of its revenue and EPS each quarter. Averaging together every EPS and revenue prediction that each analyst makes about a company in a quarter yields the "consensus estimates." A company posting earnings or revenue above or below the consensus estimate is known as an "earnings surprise" and may move the stock by a considerable margin.

If the company were to post earnings in line with the consensus estimate when it reports Thursday, EPS would be up 3.85%. Sales would be up 2.96% on a year-over-year basis. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Quarter Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020 Q3 2019EPS Estimate 0.40 0.38 0.49 0.55EPS Actual 0.54 0.42 0.51 0.52Revenue Estimate 762.49 M 795.22 M 780.27 M 790.36 MRevenue Actual 750.31 M 782.81 M 780.23 M 777.25 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Acadia Healthcare Co were trading at $30.23 as of October 27. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 0.82%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Acadia Healthcare Co is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.