Benzinga | Jul 19, 2021 10:28AM EDT

Preview: Chipotle Mexican Grill's Earnings

On Tuesday, July 20, Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's outlook for Chipotle Mexican Grill is included in the following report.

Net Income, Earnings, 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

Based on Chipotle Mexican Grill management projections, analysts predict EPS of $6.49 on revenue of $1.88 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill reported a profit of $0.4 per share when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $1.36 billion.

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

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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Tuesday, earnings would be up 1522.5%. Sales would be up 37.73% from the year-ago period. Here is how the Chipotle Mexican Grill's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past: Quarter Q1 2021 Q4 2020 Q3 2020 Q2 2020EPS Estimate 4.89 3.73 3.40 0.19EPS Actual 5.36 3.48 3.76 0.40Revenue Estimate 1.74 B 1.61 B 1.59 B 1.32 BRevenue Actual 1.74 B 1.61 B 1.60 B 1.36 B

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 32.84%. 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. Chipotle Mexican Grill is scheduled to hold the call at 16:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.