Benzinga | Apr 23, 2021 10:15AM EDT

Community Bank System Earnings Preview

On Monday, April 26, Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) will release its latest earnings report. Check out Benzinga's preview to understand the implications.

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

Community Bank System EPS will likely be near $0.8 while revenue will be around $153.79 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Community Bank System posted EPS of $0.77 on sales of $148.68 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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 considerablemargin.

The Wall Street consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 3.9% increase for the company. Sales would be up 3.44% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q4 2021 Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020EPS Estimate 0.76 0.69 0.60 0.74EPS Actual 0.85 0.85 0.76 0.77Revenue Estimate 150.84 M 149.98 M 148.04 M 148.96 MRevenue Actual 150.63 M 152.62 M 144.89 M 148.68 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Community Bank System were trading at $76.26 as of April 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 24.23%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Community Bank System is scheduled to hold the call at 11:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.