Benzinga | Apr 27, 2021 10:42AM EDT

A Preview Of Altice USA's Earnings

Altice USA (NYSE:ATUS) announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, April 28. Here is Benzinga's look at Altice USA's Q1 earnings report.

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

Sell-side analysts expect Altice USA's EPS to be near $0.3 on sales of $2.49 billion. In the same quarter last year, Altice USA posted break-even earnings on sales of $2.45 billion.

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 considerable margin.

The Wall Street estimate would represent no change in the company's earnings. Revenue would be up 1.63% 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 0.37 0.24 0.15 0.11EPS Actual 0.60 0.32 0.19 0Revenue Estimate 2.51 B 2.48 B 2.44 B 2.46 BRevenue Actual 2.54 B 2.43 B 2.48 B 2.45 B

Stock Performance

Shares of Altice USA were trading at $35.12 as of April 26. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 33.73%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Altice USA is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.