Benzinga | Jul 20, 2021 10:37AM EDT

Earnings Preview For Comerica

On Wednesday, July 21, Comerica (NYSE:CMA) will release its latest earnings report. Benzinga's report can help you figure out the ins and outs of the earnings release.

Net Income, Earnings, 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 Comerica management projections, analysts predict EPS of $1.59 on revenue of $724.55 million. In the same quarter last year, Comerica announced EPS of $0.8 on revenue of $718.00 million.

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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Wednesday, earnings would be up 98.75%. Revenue would be up 0.91% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past: Quarter Q1 2021 Q4 2020 Q3 2020 Q2 2020EPS Estimate 1.37 1.19 0.83 0.21EPS Actual 2.43 1.49 1.44 0.80Revenue Estimate 718.66 M 704.17 M 695.76 M 697.97 MRevenue Actual 713.00 M 734.00 M 710.00 M 718.00 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Comerica were trading at $63.53 as of July 19. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 75.33%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

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