Benzinga | Oct 28, 2020 10:09AM EDT

Earnings Preview for Proofpoint

Proofpoint (NASDAQ: PFPT) unveils its next round of earnings this Thursday, October 29. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the earnings announcement.

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 Proofpoint management projections, analysts predict EPS of $0.39 on revenue of $261.40 million. In the same quarter last year, Proofpoint posted EPS of $0.49 on sales of $227.38 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.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 20.41% decline in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 14.96% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020 Q3 2019EPS Estimate 0.39 0.27 0.48 0.39EPS Actual 0.51 0.38 0.52 0.49Revenue Estimate 253.43 M 245.99 M 239.10 M 224.29 MRevenue Actual 258.44 M 249.77 M 243.43 M 227.38 M

Stock Performance

Over the past 52-week period, shares of Proofpoint have declined 9.59%.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Proofpoint is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.