What To Expect From East West Bank's (EWBC) Q4 Earnings

Cross-border banking company East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) will be announcing earnings results this Thursday after the bell. Here’s what to look for.

East West Bank beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 2.9% last quarter, reporting revenues of $745.8 million, up 13.5% year on year. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a solid beat of analysts’ net interest income estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Is East West Bank a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members.

This quarter, analysts are expecting East West Bank’s revenue to grow 10.4% year on year to $746.1 million, improving from the 3.2% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $2.50 per share.

Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. East West Bank has a history of exceeding Wall Street’s expectations, beating revenue estimates every single time over the past two years by 2.1% on average.

Looking at East West Bank’s peers in the regional banks segment, some have already reported their Q4 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. ServisFirst Bancshares delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 22.9%, beating analysts’ expectations by 6.8%, and Simmons First National reported revenues up 15.9%, topping estimates by 4.1%.

Read our full analysis of ServisFirst Bancshares’s results here and Simmons First National’s results here.

Investors in the regional banks segment have had steady hands going into earnings, with share prices flat over the last month. East West Bank is down 3.1% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $130.69 (compared to the current share price of $112).

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