Benzinga | Feb 15, 2021 10:38AM EST

America's Car-Mart's Earnings: A Preview

America's Car-Mart (NASDAQ:CRMT) announces its next round of earnings this Tuesday, February 16. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Tuesday's Q3 earnings announcement.

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 America's Car-Mart reporting earnings of $2.55 per share on sales of $216.87 million. In the same quarter last year, America's Car-Mart reported earnings per share of $1.83 on sales of $186.73 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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 39.34% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 16.14% from the year-ago period. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Quarter Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020 Q3 2020EPS Estimate 2.35 1.45 1.51 1.77EPS Actual 3.05 2.83 1.35 1.83Revenue Estimate 200.08 M 167.67 M 175.29 M 171.47 MRevenue Actual 223.36 M 187.91 M 195.69 M 186.73 M

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 10.64%. 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. America's Car-Mart is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.