Benzinga | Oct 28, 2020 10:14AM EDT

BioTelemetry's Earnings: A Preview

On Thursday, October 29, BioTelemetry (NASDAQ: BEAT) 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

Based on management's projections, BioTelemetry analysts model for earnings of $0.38 per share on sales of $105.10 million. BioTelemetry reported a per-share profit of $0.52 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $111.29 million.

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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 26.92% decline in the company's EPS figure. Revenue would have fallen 5.56% from the same quarter last year. BioTelemetry's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Quarter Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020 Q3 2019EPS Estimate 0.16 0.43 0.47 0.50EPS Actual 0.35 0.45 0.48 0.52Revenue Estimate 89.52 M 113.11 M 110.18 M 111.19 MRevenue Actual 99.11 M 113.03 M 112.03 M 111.29 M

Stock Performance

Shares of BioTelemetry were trading at $41.58 as of October 27. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 3.71%. 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. BioTelemetry is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.