Benzinga | May 7, 2021 10:06AM EDT

A Preview Of Nelnet's Earnings

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) releases its next round of earnings this Monday, May 10. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company'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

Nelnet EPS is expected to be around $1.79, according to sell-side analysts. Sales will likely be near $299.18 million. Nelnet reported a per-share profit of $0.62 when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $245.70 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Monday, earnings would be up 188.71%. Revenue would be up 21.77% from the year-ago period. 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 5.78 1.79 2.42 0.49EPS Actual 6.10 1.86 2.21 0.62Revenue Estimate 506.52 M 302.38 M 331.24 M 297.82 MRevenue Actual 529.77 M 305.77 M 317.68 M 245.70 M

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 68.77%. 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. Nelnet is scheduled to hold the call at 16:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.