Restaurant technology provider PAR Technology (NYSE: PAR) will be reporting earnings this Thursday after market close. Here’s what investors should know.

PAR Technology beat analysts’ revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $133.4 million, up 18.7% year on year. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations.

Is PAR Technology a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members.

This quarter, the market is expecting PAR Technology’s revenue to grow 8.9% year on year, slowing from the 23.2% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year.

Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course heading into earnings. PAR Technology rarely misses Wall Street’s revenue estimates.

Looking at PAR Technology’s peers in the specialized technology segment, some have already reported their Q3 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Zebra delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 22.3%, beating analysts’ expectations by 2.8%, and OSI Systems reported revenues up 4.9%, topping estimates by 2.6%. OSI Systems traded down 4.2% following the results.

Read our full analysis of Zebra’s results here and OSI Systems’s results here.

Investors in the specialized technology segment have had steady hands going into earnings, with share prices flat over the last month. PAR Technology is up 21.2% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $24.94 (compared to the current share price of $17.73).

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