Benzinga | Mar 10, 2021 10:06AM EST

Asure Software's Earnings: A Preview

On Thursday, March 11, Asure Software (NASDAQ:ASUR) will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings release.

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 are expecting Asure Software to report a loss of $0.01 per share. Revenue will likely be around $16.06 million, according to the consensus estimate. In the same quarter last year, Asure Software reported a loss per share of $0.1 on revenue of $21.61 million.

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 match the consensus estimate when it reports Thursday, earnings would be up 90.0%. Revenue would be down 25.68% on a year-over-year basis. Asure Software's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate 0.01 -0.04 0.16 0.03EPS Actual -0.03 0.03 0.21 -0.10Revenue Estimate 14.57 M 13.91 M 18.35 M 17.17 MRevenue Actual 16.02 M 14.12 M 18.95 M 21.61 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Asure Software were trading at $8.62 as of March 09. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 60.22%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably happy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Asure Software is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.