Benzinga | Apr 14, 2021 10:33AM EDT

Earnings Outlook for Alcoa

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, April 15. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's Q1 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 predict Alcoa will report earnings of $0.46 per share on revenue of $2.65 billion. Alcoa EPS in the same period a year ago totaled $0.23. Revenue was $2.38 billion.

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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Thursday, earnings would be up 300.0%. Sales would be have grown 11.3% from the same quarter last year. The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Quarter Q4 2021 Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020EPS Estimate 0.11 -1.38 -0.54 -0.24EPS Actual 0.26 -1.17 -0.02 -0.23Revenue Estimate 2.35 B 2.23 B 2.11 B 2.35 BRevenue Actual 2.39 B 2.37 B 2.15 B 2.38 B

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 369.83%. 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. Alcoa is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.