Benzinga | Feb 26, 2021 10:08AM EST

Earnings Preview: Tegna

On Monday, March 01, Tegna (NYSE:TGNA) will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings 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

Tegna EPS is expected to be around $1.12, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $927.67 million. Tegna reported a profit of $0.47 per share when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $693.96 million.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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 consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 138.3% increase for the company. Sales would be up 33.68% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the Tegna's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate 0.49 0.11 0.38 0.43EPS Actual 0.59 0.12 0.43 0.47Revenue Estimate 699.09 M 577.12 M 679.32 M 681.82 MRevenue Actual 738.39 M 577.63 M 684.19 M 693.96 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Tegna were trading at $18.29 as of February 25. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 21.92%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be content going into this earnings release.

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