Benzinga | Jan 20, 2021 10:09AM EST

FuelCell Energy's Earnings Outlook

FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) will be releasing its next round of earnings this Thursday, January 21. For all of the relevant information, here is your guide for Thursday's Q4 earnings announcement.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Based on FuelCell Energy management projections, analysts predict EPS of $0.04 on revenue of $17.05 million. In the same quarter last year, FuelCell Energy reported a loss per share of $0.12 on revenue of $11.04 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 66.67% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be up 54.42% from the year-ago period. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate -0.06 -0.07 -0.08 -0.11EPS Actual -0.07 -0.07 -0.20 -0.12Revenue Estimate 16.05 M 15.55 M 14.91 M 11.51 MRevenue Actual 18.73 M 18.88 M 16.26 M 11.04 M

Stock Performance

Shares of FuelCell Energy were trading at $18.125 as of January 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 884.1%. 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. FuelCell Energy is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.