Benzinga | Feb 8, 2021 10:17AM EST

Preview: Green Plains's Earnings

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) announces its next round of earnings this Tuesday, February 09. Here is Benzinga's look at Green Plains's Q4 earnings report.

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

Analysts are predicting Green Plains will report a loss of $0.38 per share on revenue of $681.84 million. In the same quarter last year, Green Plains reported a loss per share of $0.41 on revenue of $715.70 million.

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 up 7.32%. Revenue would be down 4.73% on a year-over-year basis. Green Plains's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate -0.28 -0.70 -0.87 -0.52EPS Actual -1.05 -0.24 -0.47 -0.41Revenue Estimate 544.94 M 528.66 M 655.64 M 640.59 MRevenue Actual 424.06 M 417.99 M 632.87 M 715.70 M

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 60.32%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably relaxed going into this earnings release. Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Green Plains is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.