Benzinga | Mar 15, 2021 11:43AM EDT

Earnings Preview for FuelCell Energy

On Tuesday, March 16, FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) 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

FuelCell Energy EPS loss is expected to be around $0.04, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $22.11 million. In the same quarter last year, FuelCell Energy posted EPS of $0.2 on sales of $16.26 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 analyst consensus estimate would represent a 80.0% increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 35.94% on a year-over-year basis. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Quarter Q4 2021 Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020EPS Estimate -0.04 -0.06 -0.07 -0.08EPS Actual -0.08 -0.07 -0.07 -0.20Revenue Estimate 17.05 M 16.05 M 15.55 M 14.91 MRevenue Actual 17.00 M 18.73 M 18.88 M 16.26 M

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 1087.25%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably relaxed 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. FuelCell Energy is scheduled to hold the call at 10:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.