Benzinga | Feb 16, 2021 10:25AM EST

Jack In The Box Earnings Preview

On Wednesday, February 17, Jack In The Box (NASDAQ:JACK) will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

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

Based on management's projections, Jack In The Box analysts model for earnings of $1.77 per share on sales of $338.68 million. Jack In The Box EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $1.17. Revenue was $307.67 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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 Wall Street estimate would represent a 51.28% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be up 10.08% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the Jack In The Box's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q4 2020 Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020EPS Estimate 1.14 1.03 0.65 1.38EPS Actual 1.61 1.37 0.50 1.17Revenue Estimate 249.19 M 240.36 M 210.76 M 296.63 MRevenue Actual 255.40 M 242.28 M 216.16 M 307.67 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Jack In The Box were trading at $100.54 as of February 15. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 14.36%. 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. Jack In The Box is scheduled to hold the call at 11:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.