Benzinga | Nov 11, 2020 10:11AM EST

Preview: Salem Media Group's Earnings

Salem Media Group (NASDAQ: SALM) will be releasing its next round of earnings this Thursday, November 12. For all of the relevant information, here is your guide for Thursday's Q3 earnings announcement.

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

Analysts are predicting Salem Media Group will report a loss of $0.01 per share on revenue of $59.66 million. Salem Media Group reported a loss of $0.03 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $64.12 million.

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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 66.67% increase in the company's EPS figure. Revenue would be down 6.95% on a year-over-year basis. Salem Media Group's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Quarter Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020 Q3 2019EPS Estimate -0.18 -0.02 0 -0.01EPS Actual -0.09 -1.58 -0.08 -0.03Revenue Estimate 51.16 M 59.86 M 63.61 M 62.27 MRevenue Actual 52.87 M 58.25 M 64.63 M 64.12 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Salem Media Group were trading at $0.95 as of November 10. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 38.0%. 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. Salem Media Group is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.