Benzinga | Mar 17, 2021 10:36AM EDT

Earnings Outlook For Scholastic

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, March 18. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's Q3 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

Scholastic EPS will likely be near $0.75 while revenue will be around $279.90 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Scholastic reported EPS of $0.34 on revenue of $373.30 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 120.59% decrease for the company. Revenue would be down 25.02% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020 Q3 2020EPS Estimate 1.38 -1.74 -0.93 -0.64EPS Actual 1.15 -0.90 -0.23 -0.34Revenue Estimate 528.00 M 219.00 M 272.60 M 342.10 MRevenue Actual 406.20 M 215.20 M 284.00 M 373.30 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Scholastic were trading at $30.09 as of March 16. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 23.22%. 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. Scholastic is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.