Benzinga | Mar 2, 2021 10:05AM EST

Okta's Earnings: A Preview

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, March 03. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Wednesday's Q4 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

Analysts covering Okta have modeled for quarterly EPS loss of $0.01 on revenue of $221.85 million. In the same quarter last year, Okta reported EPS of $0.01 on revenue of $167.33 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 analyst consensus estimate would represent a 0% decrease in the company's earnings. Revenue would be have grown 32.58% from the same quarter last year. 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 -0.01 -0.02 -0.17 -0.05EPS Actual 0.04 0.07 -0.07 -0.01Revenue Estimate 202.70 M 186.29 M 171.35 M 155.85 MRevenue Actual 217.38 M 200.45 M 182.86 M 167.33 M

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 101.22%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can relax 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. Okta is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.