Earnings Preview: Franklin Resources (BEN) Q2 Earnings Expected to Decline

Company Overview - Franklin Resources (BEN) is expected to report a year-over-year decline in earnings of 6.6%, with an estimated EPS of $0.57 for the quarter ended March 2024 [2] - Revenues are projected to be $2.07 billion, reflecting a 7.5% increase from the previous year [2] Earnings Estimates and Revisions - The consensus EPS estimate has been revised 2.47% higher in the last 30 days, indicating a reassessment by analysts [2] - The Most Accurate Estimate for Franklin Resources is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, resulting in an Earnings ESP of -0.01% [5] Earnings Surprise Prediction - The Zacks Earnings ESP model suggests that a positive or negative reading indicates the likely deviation of actual earnings from the consensus estimate, with significant predictive power for positive readings [3][4] - Franklin Resources has a Zacks Rank of 3, which complicates the prediction of an earnings beat [5][6] Historical Performance - In the last reported quarter, Franklin Resources exceeded the expected EPS of $0.57 by delivering $0.65, resulting in a surprise of +14.04% [7] - The company has beaten consensus EPS estimates in all of the last four quarters [7] Market Context - The investment management industry is represented by other players such as Virtus Investment Partners (VRTS), which is expected to post earnings of $5.41 per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of 28.8% [9] - Virtus has a higher Most Accurate Estimate leading to an Earnings ESP of 0.06%, suggesting a likely earnings beat [9]