Benzinga | Feb 15, 2021 10:34AM EST

A Preview Of Exact Sciences's Earnings

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) announces its next round of earnings this Tuesday, February 16. Here is Benzinga's look at Exact Sciences'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

Exact Sciences EPS loss is expected to be around $0.22, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $446.22 million. In the same quarter last year, Exact Sciences reported EPS of $0.37 on revenue of $295.57 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Tuesday, EPS would be up 40.54%. Revenue would be up 50.97% from the year-ago period. 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 -0.52 -0.63 -0.61 -0.34EPS Actual -0.07 -0.58 -0.66 -0.37Revenue Estimate 337.37 M 228.42 M 350.39 M 281.78 MRevenue Actual 408.36 M 268.87 M 347.82 M 295.57 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Exact Sciences were trading at $146.68 as of February 11. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 55.63%. 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. Exact Sciences is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.