S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. NetApp supplies enterprise storage and data management software and hardware products and services.

NetApp Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for profit of 44 cents per share, a rise of 4.8% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved down from 52 cents. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved down. It has been unchanged at 44 cents during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 5.1% versus last year to $1.85.

Past Earnings Performance: The company topped estimates last quarter after missing forecasts the quarter prior. In the second quarter, it reported net income of 50 cents per share against a mean estimate of profit of 49 cents per share. In the first quarter, it missed forecasts by 2 cents.

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Wall St. Revenue Expectations: Analysts predict a rise of 22.8% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $1.56 billion.

Analyst Ratings: Analysts are high on the stock, with 18 analysts rating it as a buy, none rating it as a sell and 12 rating it as a hold.

A Look Back: In the second quarter, profit rose 0.6% to $165.6 million (44 cents a share) from $164.6 million (42 cents a share) the year earlier, exceeding analyst expectations. Revenue rose 24.8% to $1.51 billion from $1.21 billion.

Key Stats:

The company has enjoyed double-digit year-over-year percentage revenue growth for the past four quarters. Over that span, the company has averaged growth of 26.8%, with the biggest boost coming in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year when revenue rose 28.8% from the year earlier quarter.

The increase in profit in the second quarter came after net income fell in the previous quarter. In the first quarter, net income fell 1.6%.

Stock Price Performance: From January 11, 2012 to February 9, 2012, the stock price rose $6.36 (18.3%), from $34.75 to $41.11. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between January 27, 2012 and February 3, 2012, when shares rose for six straight days, increasing 8.2% (+$3.07) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between July 7, 2011 and July 14, 2011 when shares fell for six straight days, dropping 7.9% (-$4.27) over that span.

(Company fundamentals by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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