American Water Works Co (NYSE:AWK) announces its next round of earnings this Wednesday, February 24. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Wednesday's Q4 earnings announcement.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, 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

Wall Street analysts see American Water Works Co reporting earnings of $0.8 per share on sales of $975.00 million. In the same quarter last year, American Water Works Co reported EPS of $0.73 on revenue of $902.00 million.

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 report earnings in line when it publishes results Wednesday, quarterly profit would be up 9.59%. Revenue would be have grown 8.09% from the same quarter last year. American Water Works Co's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of American Water Works Co were trading at $152.06 as of February 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 14.96%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. American Water Works Co is scheduled to hold the call at 09:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.