Benzinga | Dec 8, 2020 10:06AM EST

Earnings Outlook For Greif

Greif (NYSE:GEF) releases its next round of earnings this Wednesday, December 09. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's Q4 earnings report.

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

Greif EPS will likely be near $0.72 while revenue will be around $1.17 billion, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Greif reported earnings per share of $1.24 on sales of $1.23 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.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate, earnings would be down 41.94%. Revenue would be down 5.03% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2019EPS Estimate 0.85 0.80 0.55 1.08EPS Actual 0.85 0.95 0.64 1.24Revenue Estimate 1.13 B 1.16 B 1.16 B 1.26 BRevenue Actual 1.08 B 1.16 B 1.11 B 1.23 B

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares of Greif are up 13.34%.

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