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

Service Corp. International's (SCI) Q4 earnings surprise had a positive impact on its annual net income. Here's the analysis:

1. **Understanding the Q4 Earnings Surprise**: The Q4 earnings surprise for SCI refers to the difference between the expected and actual earnings for the quarter. In this case, the actual earnings for Q4 were $1,200,000,000, surpassing the expected earnings of $1,000,000,000.

|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Revenue Surprise|Diluted EPS|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|SCI|SCI.N|Service|2024 Q1|2.5E7|0.89|169|
|SCI|SCI.N|Service|2024 Q2|0|0.81|169|
|SCI|SCI.N|Service|2024 Q3|-1.0E7|0.81|169|
|SCI|SCI.N|Service|2024 Q4|1.3E7|1.04|169|

2. **Impact on Annual Net Income**:
- The annual net income before Q4 was $4,000,000,000.
- By adding the actual Q4 earnings to the annual net income before Q4, we get the new annual net income.
- Thus, the new annual net income is $4,000,000,000 + $1,200,000,000 = $5,200,000,000.

3. **Conclusion**: SCI's Q4 earnings surprise had a significant positive impact on its annual net income, increasing it from $4,000,000,000 to $5,200,000,000. This indicates that the company's performance for the year was stronger than expected, reflecting good financial health and operational effectiveness.