Salesforce.com CRM releases its next round of earnings this Tuesday, December 01. Here is Benzinga's essential guide to Salesforce.com's Q3 earnings report.
What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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
Sell-side analysts expect Salesforce.com's EPS to be near $0.75 on sales of $5.25 billion. In the same quarter last year, Salesforce.com reported EPS of $0.75 on revenue of $4.51 billion.
Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important
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 down 0%. Revenue would be up 16.33% from the year-ago period. Salesforce.com's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:
| Quarter | Q2 2020 | Q1 2020 | Q4 2020 | Q3 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS Estimate | 0.67 | 0.69 | 0.55 | 0.66 |
| EPS Actual | 1.44 | 0.70 | 0.66 | 0.75 |
| Revenue Estimate | 4.90 B | 4.85 B | 4.75 B | 4.45 B |
| Revenue Actual | 5.15 B | 4.87 B | 4.85 B | 4.51 B |
Stock Performance
Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 48.16%. 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. Salesforce.com is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Date | ticker | name | Actual EPS | EPS Surprise | Actual Rev | Rev Surprise |
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