Benzinga | Feb 10, 2021 10:38AM EST

j2 Global's Earnings Outlook

j2 Global (NASDAQ:JCOM) releases its next round of earnings this Thursday, February 11. Here is Benzinga's essential guide to j2 Global's Q4 earnings report.

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

j2 Global earnings will be near $2.79 per share on sales of $433.96 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, j2 Global reported earnings per share of $2.38 on sales of $405.59 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 match the consensus estimate, earnings would be up 17.23%. Sales would be up 7.0% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has compared to analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate 1.77 1.45 1.39 2.36EPS Actual 2.02 1.71 1.40 2.38Revenue Estimate 338.82 M 316.05 M 331.98 M 394.30 MRevenue Actual 356.98 M 330.98 M 332.39 M 405.59 M

Stock Performance

Shares of j2 Global were trading at $108.78 as of February 09. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 11.44%. 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. j2 Global is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.