Earnings season plays a crucial role in moving the market, often significantly impacting the performance of individual stocks for the following quarter. With third-quarter earnings now in full swing, investor anticipation is high, especially given that the S&P 500 has risen by 21.7% so far in 2024 (up to October 25) and has gained 7.5% over the last three months alone.
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The release of earnings reports can serve as a powerful catalyst in the market, frequently setting the tone for stock prices in the near term. So far, earnings season has shown strength, with around 37% of S&P 500 companies having reported by October 25. Based on these reports and overall quarterly estimates, the S&P 500 has achieved 3.6% growth in earnings and 4.9% in revenue.
The following seven companies are due to release earnings reports soon and are worth watching, as six of them report this week:
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Apple is renowned for its lineup of products, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac computers, and other personal computing devices. Its services division, which includes the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, and various licensing operations, has also become a substantial revenue source.
In the previous quarter, Apple reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.35, surpassing analyst estimates by 3.7%. This quarter, analysts project Apple’s EPS at $1.52, up from $1.36 a year ago, alongside an expected revenue growth rate of 13%. Apple shares have climbed roughly 7% in the past three months.
The median analyst price target for Apple stock stands at $250, indicating an 8% upside from its closing price on October 25.
Expected Report Date: October 31, after the market closes
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
Nvidia, a leader in high-end graphics and video processing chips, serves markets ranging from desktop and gaming computers to advanced computing servers and supercomputers. Nvidia has been among the market’s top performers over the past 15 years. It was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2023 and has been the second-best performer in 2024.
Analysts anticipate Nvidia will report EPS of 74 cents and revenue of $32.9 billion, reflecting an impressive 81.5% increase year-over-year. Nvidia’s median analyst price target is $150, signaling a 5.9% potential upside from October 25.
Expected Report Date: November 20, after the market closes
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
As the largest software company globally, Microsoft is well-known for products like Windows, Office, and its Azure cloud services. Analysts expect Microsoft to report EPS of $3.10 on revenue of $64.5 billion, marking a 29.9% increase compared to last year. In the previous quarter, Microsoft’s reported EPS of $2.95 slightly exceeded analyst estimates.
Investors should also keep an eye on Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment, which brought in $28.5 billion last quarter, and its Azure cloud services, which grew by 29%. The median price target for Microsoft stock is $497, suggesting a potential upside of 16.1% from October 25.
Expected Report Date: October 30, after the market closes
Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL)
Alphabet, one of the largest players in online search and advertising, is the parent company of Google and YouTube. For this quarter, analysts project EPS of $1.85 and revenue of $86.3 billion, a 23.4% year-over-year increase. In the last quarter, Alphabet reported EPS of $1.89, beating expectations by 2.7%.
Investors should also watch YouTube’s advertising revenue, which was $8.66 billion last quarter but fell short of Wall Street projections. Alphabet shares have been relatively stable over the past three months. The median price target for Alphabet stock is $205, representing a potential upside of 22.7% from October 25.
Expected Report Date: October 29, before the market opens
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
Amazon dominates the e-commerce sector and is a leader in public cloud services through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division. Shares of Amazon have gained about 4% in the past three months, reflecting tempered market expectations for its upcoming earnings.
Analysts expect Amazon to report EPS of $1.14 on revenue of $157.1 billion, a growth rate of 11.2%. In the previous quarter, Amazon beat expectations with EPS of $1.26, 22.3% above consensus estimates.
AWS revenue grew by 19%, and advertising revenue increased by 20% last quarter. The median price target for Amazon stock is $220, representing a 17.1% upside from October 25.
Expected Report Date: October 31, after the market closes
Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
Meta Platforms, a social media and online advertising giant, owns platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Analysts predict Meta will report quarterly EPS of $5.24 on revenue of $40.2 billion, up 20% from last year.
Last quarter, Meta posted EPS of $5.16, beating consensus estimates by 9.1%. Investors are likely to pay close attention to Meta’s daily active people (DAP) metric, which reached 3.27 billion across all platforms in the previous quarter. Meta’s median price target is $600, reflecting a 4.6% upside from October 25.
Expected Report Date: October 30, after the market closes
Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY)
Eli Lilly, a prominent pharmaceutical company, produces prescription medications for various medical conditions, including diabetes, cancer, and neurological disorders. The company’s third-quarter results could offer insight into the health care sector’s broader performance.
Analysts expect Eli Lilly to report EPS of $1.45 on revenue of $12.1 billion, a 27.4% increase compared to the same period last year. In the last quarter, Eli Lilly delivered EPS of $3.92, outperforming analyst expectations by 50.8%.
The stock has seen a 9% increase over the past three months, and analysts’ median price target is $1,033, indicating a potential upside of 15.7% from October 25.
Expected Report Date: October 30, before the market opens
These upcoming earnings reports will provide valuable insights into each sector and are expected to set the pace for stock performance heading into the fourth quarter.
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