Benzinga | Mar 3, 2021 10:42AM EST

Earnings Preview: Arbutus Biopharma

On Thursday, March 04, Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

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 are predicting Arbutus Biopharma will report a loss of $0.22 per share on revenue of $2.03 million. In the same quarter last year, Arbutus Biopharma posted a loss of $0.46 per share on sales of $1.62 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Thursday, EPS would be up 52.17%. Revenue would be up 25.46% 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 -0.22 -0.24 -0.39 -0.39EPS Actual -0.27 -0.25 -0.25 -0.46Revenue Estimate 1.66 M 1.74 M 220.00 K 220.00 KRevenue Actual 1.52 M 1.51 M 1.49 M 1.62 M

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 26.67%. 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. Arbutus Biopharma is scheduled to hold the call at 08:45:00 ET and can be accessed here.