S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component CBS Corp (NYSE:CBS) will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, November 3, 2011. CBS is a mass media company with operations in entertainment, cable networks, publishing, local broadcasting, and radio.

CBS Corp Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for net income of 46 cents per share, a rise of 31.4% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved up from 45 cents. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate was unchanged. It has risen during the last month. For the year, analysts are projecting profit of $1.86 per share, a rise of 66.1% from last year.

Past Earnings Performance: Last quarter, the company beat estimates by 13 cents, coming in at net income of 58 cents a share versus the estimate of profit of 45 cents a share. It marked the fourth straight quarter of beating estimates.

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Wall St. Revenue Expectations: Analysts are projecting a rise of 3.9% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $3.43 billion.

Analyst Ratings: Analysts are bullish on this stock with 17 analysts rating it as a buy, none rating it as a sell and five rating it as a hold.

A Look Back: In the second quarter, profit rose more than twofold to $395 million (58 cents a share) from $150.1 million (22 cents a share) the year earlier, exceeding analyst expectations. Revenue rose 7.7% to $3.59 billion from $3.33 billion.

Key Stats:

Over the last four quarters, revenue has increased 4.2% on average year over year. The biggest increase came in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, when revenue rose 11.5% from the year earlier quarter.

Competitors to Watch: The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (NYSE:SNI), Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ:CMLS), News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA), DISH Network (NASDAQ:DISH), DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Radio One, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROIAK), AOL Inc. (NYSE:AOL), Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE:ETM), and Entravision Communication (NYSE:EVC).

Stock Price Performance: During September 30, 2011 to October 28, 2011, the stock price had risen $5.42 (26.6%) from $20.38 to $25.80. It saw one of its worst periods between July 22, 2011 and August 2, 2011 when shares fell for eight-straight days, falling 11% (-$3.24) over that span. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between June 22, 2011 and July 5, 2011 when shares rose for nine-straight days, rising 7.2% (+$1.91) over that span. Shares are up $6.94 (+36.8%) year to date.

(Source: Xignite Financials)

Investing Insights: Here’s Why Chipotle’s Stock Keeps Winning.

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