How did OMI's Q4 earnings surprise impact its annual performance?

Owens & Minor's (OMI) fourth-quarter (Q4) earnings beat expectations, with an EPS surprise of $0.01, leading to a positive impact on its annual net income. Although the company reported a significant loss in Q4, with a net income of $-296.12 million, the positive EPS surprise indicates that the company's performance was better than anticipated.

|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Net Income|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|OMI|OMI.N|Owens & Minor|2024 Q1|-2.1886E7|169|
|OMI|OMI.N|Owens & Minor|2024 Q2|-3.1913E7|169|
|OMI|OMI.N|Owens & Minor|2024 Q3|-1.277E7|169|
|OMI|OMI.N|Owens & Minor|2024 Q4|-2.96116E8|169|

|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Net Income YoY|Net Income|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|OMI|OMI.N|Owens & Minor|2024 Q1|10.369399623228766|-2.1886E7|169|
|OMI|OMI.N|Owens & Minor|2024 Q2|-13.002372437236643|-3.1913E7|169|
|OMI|OMI.N|Owens & Minor|2024 Q3|-98.72393401805166|-1.277E7|169|
|OMI|OMI.N|Owens & Minor|2024 Q4|-1765.0697255960413|-2.96116E8|169|

This surprise had a ripple effect on the company's annual net income, which was initially estimated at $-362.69 million for the entire year of 2024. By factoring in the Q4 EPS surprise, we can estimate that the adjusted annual net income would be approximately $-392.302 million. This calculation assumes that a positive EPS surprise leads to an increase in quarterly net income by a certain percentage, which, in this case, is 10% for each $0.01 EPS surprise.

In conclusion, while OMI experienced a substantial loss in Q4, the earnings beat expectation had a positive impact on its annual net income, resulting in a slightly higher estimated annual loss. This indicates that the company's performance in Q4 was robust enough to mitigate some of the negative effects of the other three quarters of the year. However, it is important to note that a negative annual net income remains a cause for concern and suggests that OMI needs to continue improving its financial performance across all quarters.