H & R Block Inc (HRB) Earnings Report: What Should Investors Expect? INTU & TAX The Q1 2015 earnings report for tax preparer stock H & R Block Inc (HRB), a potential peer or competitor of Intuit Inc (INTU) and Liberty Tax Inc (TAX), is scheduled for after the market closes on Wednesday (September 3rd).

Peter Graham for SmallCapNetwork.com writes: The Q1 2015 earnings report for tax preparer stock H & R Block Inc (NYSE: HRB), a potential peer or competitor of Intuit Inc (NASDAQ: INTU) and Liberty Tax Inc (NASDAQ: TAX), is scheduled for after the market closes on Wednesday (September 3rd). Aside from the H & R Block Inc earnings report, it should be said that Intuit Inc reported Q4 2014 earnings on August 21st (they reported a wider than expected loss and a tepid outlook) while Liberty Tax Inc reported Q1 2015 earnings on August 28th (revenues decreased by 2.8% to $7.8 million plus there was a net loss of $8.6 million verses $5.9 million). The last time H & R Block Inc reported earnings, shares hit a 3 month high on a strong fiscal year end earnings report.

What Should You Watch Out for With the H & R Block Inc Earnings Report?

First, here is a quick recap of H & R Block Inc’s recent earnings history along with EPS estimate trends from the Yahoo! Finance analyst estimates page:

Earnings History	Jul 13	Oct 13	Jan 14	Apr 14
EPS Est	-0.37	-0.37	-0.11	3.23
EPS Actual	-0.40	-0.42	-0.77	3.24
Difference	-0.03	-0.05	-0.66	0.01
Surprise %	-8.10%	-13.50%	-600.00%	0.30%

EPS Trends	Current Qtr. Jul 14	Next Qtr. Oct 14	Current Year Apr 15	Next Year Apr 16
Current Estimate	-0.40	-0.42	1.98	2.21
7 Days Ago	-0.40	-0.42	1.98	2.21
30 Days Ago	-0.40	-0.42	1.98	2.21
60 Days Ago	-0.40	-0.42	1.98	2.21
90 Days Ago	-0.40	-0.42	1.99	2.35

Back in early June, H & R Block Inc reported a 4.1% fiscal year revenue increase to $3.024 billion driven by improved return mix and changes to the company's pricing strategy in its retail locations, digital tax software product enhancements and monetization efforts, and increased Tax Plus financial services product revenues. Returns prepared by and through H & R Block Inc fell 2.6% to 24.2 million worldwide, primarily due to the company's decision to discontinue its US-based free federal 1040EZ promotion in virtually all markets. Fiscal 2014 net income came in at $500 million verses $465 million for fiscal year 2013 while for the fourth quarter, the company earned $3.29 per share, up 36% from a year ago, as revenue grew 16% to $2.56 billion. The President/CEO commented:

"We delivered a strong year of both revenue and earnings growth and lived up to our long-standing tradition of being the world's leading tax services provider. Though we anticipated an overall decline in return counts, our Tax Plus strategy is working, and we will continue to focus on enhancing the client experience and delivering best-in-class products and services to drive profitable growth. Our improving client satisfaction scores are a testament to the value we bring to our clients, positioning us well for 2015 and beyond.”

The CFO added:

"By executing on our Tax Plus objectives, we delivered exceptional results this year, growing both our top and bottom line. Our productivity initiatives enabled us to manage our costs more efficiently and drive margin expansion, while continuing to invest in our business, ultimately creating shareholder value."

The January-through-April period is critical for H & R Block Inc to achieve massive profits to offset losses in other quarters of the year. However, H & R Block Inc has reported larger losses than usual in recent quarters amid rising competition from do-it-yourself tax preparation programs such as Intuit's TurboTax and others. Last April, the company also agreed to sell its banking unit to exit Federal Reserve oversight and focus on tax preparation.

What do the H & R Block Inc Charts Say?

The latest technical chart for H & R Block Inc shows a summer surge after the last earnings report:

A long term performance chart shows that H & R Block Inc has put in a good performance for the past two years but Liberty Tax Inc has been an outperformer and Intuit Inc has been a more steady outperformer:

The latest technical chart for Intuit Inc shows a bouncy uptrend for the year while Liberty Tax Inc has given investors a smother upward rise:

What Should Be Your Next Move?

One thing investors will be watching for is what impact Obamacare may have on H & R Block Inc as many Americans remain in confusion as to how the law will impact them, their tax returns and their refunds. That confusion could help tax preparers earn more revenue at other times of the year. Beyond that, investors and traders alike probably should not expect to much excitement with the coming earnings report.