Benzinga | Oct 28, 2020 10:04AM EDT

Earnings Outlook For DaVita

DaVita (NYSE: DVA) unveils its next round of earnings this Thursday, October 29. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the earnings announcement.

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

Wall Street analysts see DaVita reporting earnings of $1.44 per share on sales of $2.94 billion. DaVita earnings in the same period a year ago was $1.53 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $2.90 billion.

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 Thursday, earnings would be down 5.88%. Revenue would be up 1.24% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020 Q3 2019EPS Estimate 1.30 1.47 1.66 1.23EPS Actual 1.95 1.83 1.86 1.53Revenue Estimate 2.93 B 2.80 B 2.92 B 2.85 BRevenue Actual 2.88 B 2.84 B 2.90 B 2.90 B

Stock Performance

Shares of DaVita were trading at $89.21 as of October 27. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 50.97%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably happy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. DaVita is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.