Benzinga | Feb 15, 2021 10:25AM EST

Denny's Earnings: A Preview

Denny's (NASDAQ:DENN) releases its next round of earnings this Tuesday, February 16. Here is Benzinga's essential guide to Denny's's Q4 earnings report.

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

Wall Street analysts see Denny's reporting a quarterly loss of $0.01 per share on sales of $80.05 million. In the same quarter last year, Denny's reported earnings per share of $0.23 on revenue of $113.84 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 post earnings in line with the consensus estimate when it reports Tuesday, EPS would be down 104.35%. Revenue would have fallen 29.68% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate -0.03 -0.19 0.13 0.17EPS Actual 0.01 -0.25 0.17 0.23Revenue Estimate 71.95 M 43.64 M 101.55 M 106.97 MRevenue Actual 71.64 M 40.16 M 96.69 M 113.84 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Denny's were trading at $16.5 as of February 11. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 20.9%. 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. Denny's is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.