Benzinga | Jan 25, 2021 10:05AM EST

A Preview Of 3M's Earnings

On Tuesday, January 26, 3M (NYSE:MMM) will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings release.

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

3M earnings will be near $2.15 per share on sales of $8.40 billion, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, 3M reported earnings per share of $2.15 on sales of $8.11 billion.

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

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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Tuesday, earnings would be down 0%. Sales would be have grown 3.56% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate 2.26 1.80 2.03 2.10EPS Actual 2.43 1.78 2.16 2.15Revenue Estimate 8.29 B 7.32 B 7.91 B 8.12 BRevenue Actual 8.35 B 7.18 B 8.07 B 8.11 B

Stock Performance

Shares of 3M were trading at $169.05 as of January 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 1.97%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably happy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. 3M is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.