META - Earnings Week Ahead: Amazon Meta Platforms Alphabet Coca-Cola Boeing and more

2023-04-21 13:30:41 ET

The peak of earnings season progresses over the final full week of April. A host of Big Tech heavyweights will garner the most attention, although a wide variety of consumer staples, industrial and energy names are scheduled to provide earnings updates as well.

Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon ( NASDAQ: AMZN ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Meta Platforms ( META ) will headline the week. Coca-Cola ( KO ), PepsiCo ( PEP ), Caterpillar ( CAT ), Boeing ( BA ), Visa ( V ), Mastercard ( MA ), ExxonMobil ( XOM ) and Chevron ( CVX ) are also on the earnings calendar next week

Below is a rundown of major earnings results anticipated in the week from April 24 to 28:

Monday, April 24

Coca-Cola ( KO )

Coca-Cola ( KO ) is set to report its first-quarter earnings results prior to the opening bell on Monday. Sell-side analysts remain positive on the name. For example, Citi recently shifted to Buy ahead of the print.

"Near-term, we also see potential topline/EPS upside with momentum exiting Q4, strong pricing power, solid emerging markets growth,” the bank’s analysts said . “We view KO’s valuation close to the average of 4 mega-cap peers as compelling given a stronger topline growth and higher margin profile.” Meanwhile, EPS estimates have been hiked 11 times in the 90 days ahead of the announcement amid pricing actions by the beverage giant.

• Consensus EPS Estimates: $0.64
• Consensus Revenue Estimates: $10.79B
• Earnings Insight: Coca-Cola has beaten EPS and revenue expectations in 8 consecutive quarters.

Also reporting: Brown & Brown ( BRO ), Canadian National Railway ( CNI ), Cleveland-Cliffs ( CLF ), First Republic Bank ( FRC ), Garrett Motion ( GTX ), and Whirlpool Corporation ( WHR )

Tuesday, April 25

Microsoft ( MSFT )

Microsoft ( MSFT ) is scheduled to release its earnings report on Tuesday after the bell, beginning the busiest season for big tech earnings for the spring. Shares of the Satya Nadella-led company have risen about 20% year to date, bolstered by its perceived pole position in AI innovation .

Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss told clients the company is “best positioned to gain market share” among leading software companies investing in cloud and AI markets ahead of the earnings announcement. Elsewhere, the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard ( ATVI ) remains under regulatory review .

• Consensus EPS Estimates: $2.23
• Consensus Revenue Estimates: $51.05B
• Earnings Insight: Microsoft has beaten EPS estimates in 7 of the past 8 quarters, rising above revenue expectations in 6 of those quarters.

Alphabet ( GOOGL )

Alphabet ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ) joins Microsoft in announcing its results in Tuesday’s postmarket period. Shares of the Google parent have risen sharply in 2023 as well, rebounding about 18% since the start of the year.

Shortly before the results, CEO Sundar Pichai weighed in on AI efforts in an appearance on 60 Minutes . The company also disclosed the use of its Bard chatbot in advertising campaigns in early April . In another update coming just before the quarterly print, the California-based tech titan announced it will combine the Brain team from Google Research and its DeepMind unit (bought in 2014) into a single group, called Google DeepMind .

Aside from AI, cost savings and layoffs are likely to attract attention. In an SEC filing released shortly before the results, the company indicated that it expects to take charges of $1.9B-$2.3B tied to employee severance and related costs, the bulk of which will be recognized in Q1 .

• Consensus EPS Estimates: $1.07
• Consensus Revenue Estimates: $68.79B
• Earnings Insight: Google has topped EPS expectations in 4 of the past 8 quarters, beating revenue estimates in 5 of those reports

UBS Group ( UBS )

UBS ( UBS ) is expected to post earnings results before the opening bell on Tuesday. The report will be the first since the bank’s shotgun wedding to beleaguered cross-town rival Credit Suisse. The Federal Reserve approved the deal just about two weeks prior to the earnings announcement, though the domestic parliament in Switzerland voiced its disapproval . Following the deal, the bank has seen over $5B in fund outflows, according to reports . The Zurich-based bank also augmented its buyback plan following the takeover.

Also reporting: Archer-Daniels-Midland ( ADM ), Biogen ( BIIB ), Chipotle Mexican Grill ( CMG ), Dow Inc. ( DOW ), General Electric ( GE ), General Motors ( GM ), Halliburton ( HAL ), Kimberly-Clark ( KMB ), McDonald's ( MCD ), Moody’s ( MCO ), Novartis ( NVS ), Pepsico ( PEP ), Raytheon Technologies ( RTX ), Spotify ( SPOT ), Texas Instruments ( TXN ), Verizon ( VZ ) and Visa ( V )

Wednesday, April 26

Meta Platforms ( META )

Meta Platforms ( META ) continues the procession of tech earnings during the week, with the Facebook parent announcing its quarterly results after the close on Wednesday. Job cuts will be top of mind for investors, as the Mark Zuckerberg-led social media giant slashed over 10,000 jobs in late 2022 and is reported to be eyeing another round for the spring .

Shares of Meta have rocketed higher in 2023, jumping over 70% since the start of the calendar year. Analysts have also remained bullish , despite some shaky performance in 2022 due to heavy investments in the metaverse.

“The cost cuts do demonstrate prudence by management and should improve profitability, thus giving the market what it wants,” Argus said in an upgrade shortly before the quarterly report. Over the last three months , EPS estimates have seen 15 upward revisions and just one downward revision.

• Consensus EPS Estimates: $1.95
• Consensus Revenue Estimates: $27.64B
• Earnings Insight: Meta has topped EPS expectations in 4 of the past 8 quarters, beating revenue estimates in 5 of those reports

Boeing ( BA )

Boeing ( BA ) is preparing to report Q1 results after the closing bell on Wednesday. Shares of the now Virginia-based industrial and defense giant have rebounded over 40% in the past 6 months as delivery trends have picked up steam.

Despite reported delays in 737 deliveries due to defects , CEO Dave Calhoun said the company isn't changing its schedule for 737 suppliers in the week prior to the announcement. 64 commercial plans were delivered in March, marking the highest number thus far in 2023 . However, airlines are now projecting some deliveries due in 2023 to be pushed into 2024.

• Consensus EPS Estimates: $-1.01
• Consensus Revenue Estimates: $17.56B
• Earnings Insight: Boeing has beaten EPS expectations just once in the past 8 quarters and revenue just twice in that span.

Also reporting: Automatic Data Processing ( ADP ), Canadian Pacific Kansas City ( CP ), CME Group ( CME ), eBay ( EBAY ), General Dynamics ( GD ), Hess Corporation ( HES ), Humana ( HUM ), KLA Corporation ( KLAC ), Norfolk Southern ( NSC ), Roku ( ROKU ), ServiceNow ( NOW ), ThermoFisher ( TMO ) and Waste Management ( WM )

Thursday, April 27

Amazon ( AMZN )

Amazon ( AMZN ) may be the most closely watched report even in a week of high-profile earnings reports. The Seattle-based tech giant is due to post results after the closing bell on Thursday. Much the same as Meta and Alphabet before it, investors are hotly anticipating details on the online retailer’s cost cutting efforts. The company approved plans to cut 18,000 staff in January , moving to cut another 9,000 into the turn of the spring 2023 .

"We do not see the news as constructive on AWS demand trends, with Bears focused on AI competition, competitive price cuts, and further workload optimization ahead,” Bank of America said of the layoffs .

Outside of the firm’s retail operations, investors will also want an update on the firm’s AWS cloud business. CEO Andy Jassy said in a mid-April letter that he expects “unusual growth” in the business over the long term despite near-term deceleration.

• Consensus EPS Estimates: $0.22
• Consensus Revenue Estimates: $124.57B
• Earnings Insight: Amazon has beaten EPS and revenue estimates in 4 and 3 of the last 8 reports, respectively.

Also reporting: Abbvie ( ABBV ), Activision Blizzard ( ATVI ), Altria Group ( MO ), AstraZeneca ( AZN ), Bristol-Myers Squibb ( BMY ), Caterpillar ( CAT ), Comcast ( CMCSA ), Deutsche Bank ( DB ), Dominos Pizza ( DPZ ), Eli Lilly ( LLY ), Gilead Sciences ( GILD ), Harley-Davidson ( HOG ), Hasbro ( HAS ), Hershey Company ( HSY ), Honeywell International ( HON ), Intel ( INTC ), Mastercard ( MA ), Merck ( MRK ), Mondelez International ( MDLZ ), Northrop Grumman ( NOC ), Newmont ( NEM ), Pinterest ( PINS ), Southwest Airlines ( LUV ), Snap Inc. ( SNAP ), STMicroelectronics ( STM ) and US Steel ( X )

Friday, April 28

Sector Spotlight: Energy Giants

Both Chevron ( CVX ) and Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) are expected to report Q1 earnings results in premarket hours on Friday. Shares of each supermajor have edged lower from their 2022 peaks as energy prices have fallen slightly, although they remain significantly elevated from pre-pandemic levels.

Shares of both firms have risen after a spike in crude oil prices due to Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ producers’ decision to cut production by a combined 1.16M bbl/day . Both companies have fielded upgrades in recent weeks, with Exxon’s balance sheet named as a key factor for UBS . However, according to Scotiabank, Chevron ( CVX ) is the more attractive play of the two. Equity analyst Paul Cheng told clients that Chevron ( CVX ) could outperform Exxon ( XOM ) given its higher oil leverage in contrast to Exxon’s “much larger refined product exposure.”

Also reporting: Bloomin’ Brands ( BLMN ), Colgate-Palmolive ( CL ), Dana Incorporated ( DAN ), and Newell Brands ( NWL )

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