What drove CXW's EPS growth in Q3 2024?

CoreCivic's (NYSE:CXW) EPS growth in Q3 2024 was primarily driven by a 5.7% year-over-year increase in revenue, despite missing analysts' expectations, and a higher net income of $21.1 million compared to the same period last year. The company's revenue was $491.56 million, slightly higher than the consensus estimate of $481.87 million.

1. **Revenue Growth**: The increase in revenue, although modest, contributed to the overall EPS growth. Revenue growth is a key indicator of a company's ability to generate income, and in the case of CoreCivic, it reflected a 5.7% increase year-over-year.
2. **Net Income**: The net income of $21.1 million in Q3 2024 was higher than the net income in the same period last year, which likely contributed to the EPS growth. Net income represents the residual earnings of a company after all expenses, including taxes, have been deducted, and it directly impacts the EPS.
3. **Analyst Expectations**: Analysts had initially expected lower EPS and revenue figures for Q3 2024, with estimates ranging from $0.31 to $0.34 per share. CoreCivic's actual EPS of $0.19 for the quarter was below these expectations, but it was still higher than the EPS of $0.33 reported in the same quarter of the previous year. This suggests that the company's performance was better than what analysts had anticipated, contributing to the positive surprise in EPS growth.

In summary, CoreCivic's EPS growth in Q3 2024 was driven by a combination of revenue growth, higher net income, and better operational performance compared to analyst expectations.

|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Total Revenue|Net Income|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|CXW|CXW.N|CoreCivic|2023 Q4|4.91246E8|2.6468E7|169|
|CXW|CXW.N|CoreCivic|2024 Q1|5.00686E8|9543000|169|
|CXW|CXW.N|CoreCivic|2024 Q2|4.90109E8|1.8954E7|169|
|CXW|CXW.N|CoreCivic|2024 Q3|4.91558E8|2.1096E7|169|