Benzinga | Feb 17, 2021 10:08AM EST

A Preview Of AMN Healthcare Services's Earnings

On Thursday, February 18, AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN) will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's outlook for AMN Healthcare Services is included in the following 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

AMN Healthcare Services earnings will be near $0.89 per share on sales of $625.74 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, AMN Healthcare Services reported EPS of $0.85 on revenue of $586.89 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 4.71% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be up 6.62% on a year-over-year basis. 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 0.69 0.64 0.78 0.73EPS Actual 0.82 0.83 0.79 0.85Revenue Estimate 520.48 M 560.74 M 601.36 M 575.41 MRevenue Actual 551.63 M 608.35 M 602.46 M 586.89 M

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 3.24%. 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. AMN Healthcare Services is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.