Benzinga | Feb 25, 2021 10:07AM EST

Preview: Foot Locker's Earnings

On Friday, February 26, Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Analysts expect Foot Locker earnings of $1.35 per share. Revenue will likely be around $2.29 billion, according to the consensus estimate. In the same quarter last year, Foot Locker reported earnings per share of $1.63 on revenue of $2.22 billion.

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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Friday, quarterly profit would be down 17.18%. Sales would be up 3.11% from the year-ago period. 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 0.62 0.57 0.49 1.60EPS Actual 1.21 0.71 -0.67 1.63Revenue Estimate 1.94 B 2.00 B 1.58 B 2.25 BRevenue Actual 2.11 B 2.08 B 1.18 B 2.22 B

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 50.12%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Foot Locker is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.