Benzinga | Jul 21, 2021 10:48AM EDT

Earnings Preview: Icon

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) releases its next round of earnings this Thursday, July 22. Here is Benzinga's essential guide to Icon's Q2 earnings 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

Analysts predict Icon will report earnings of $2.08 per share on revenue of $856.70 million. In the same quarter last year, Icon posted EPS of $1.2 on sales of $620.23 million.

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.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Thursday, earnings would be up 73.33%. Sales would be have grown 38.13% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the Icon's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past: Quarter Q1 2021 Q4 2020 Q3 2020 Q2 2020EPS Estimate 1.97 1.83 1.53 1.1EPS Actual 2.06 1.90 1.72 1.2Revenue Estimate 787.38 M 751.01 M 660.79 M 598.77 MRevenue Actual 858.20 M 760.23 M 701.73 M 620.23 M

Want Real-Time Earnings Calendar Updates?

Benzinga consistently updates its earnings calendars to stay up-to-date with the latest company earnings reports. Check out the full earnings calendar list updated in real-time by following this link.

Stock Performance

For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 13.66%. 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. Icon is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.