Benzinga | Jul 14, 2021 10:06AM EDT

Earnings Preview: Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) will be releasing its next round of earnings this Thursday, July 15. For all of the relevant information, here is your guide for Thursday's Q2 earnings announcement.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, And Earnings Per Share?

Earnings and EPS are useful metrics of profitability. Total earnings also known as net income is equal to total revenue minus total expenses. Dividing net income by the total number of shares outstanding yields EPS.

Earnings And Revenue

Analysts expect Morgan Stanley earnings of $1.65 per share. Revenue will likely be around $13.96 billion, according to the consensus estimate. In the same quarter last year, Morgan Stanley reported EPS of $1.96 on revenue of $13.41 billion.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

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 consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 15.82% decrease for the company. Sales would be up 4.07% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the Morgan Stanley's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past: Quarter Q1 2021 Q4 2020 Q3 2020 Q2 2020EPS Estimate 1.70 1.27 1.28 1.12EPS Actual 2.22 1.92 1.66 1.96Revenue Estimate 14.09 B 11.54 B 10.64 B 10.31 BRevenue Actual 15.72 B 13.64 B 11.66 B 13.41 B

Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley were trading at $93.21 as of July 13. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 76.5%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Morgan Stanley is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.