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Earnings season is petering out as we head into the Christmas holidays. However, there are still some influential companies announcing earnings reports in the week ahead, including the largest homebuilder in America, a major software company, a red hot electric vehicle start-up and a leading logistics and delivery concern.
Taken together, the results could help to extend the current market rally that has gathered steam over the past few trading sessions or help to cool investor expectations heading into the New Year.
With the traditional year-end Santa Clause rally still expected to ramp up in the next few weeks, let’s take a look at five stocks with earnings reports during the week of Dec. 13:
- Lennar (NYSE:LEN)
- Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE)
- Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN)
- FedEx (NYSE:FDX)
- Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)
Earnings Reports Next Week: Lennar (LEN)
Source: ShutterstockLennar, the largest U.S. homebuilder, reports its latest earnings on Dec. 15. As is always the case, the company will serve as a bellwether for how the U.S. economy is holding up. Heading into the New Year, Lennar has a lot of momentum behind it. LEN stock was recently named a top stock pick for 2022 by JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to a “buy” rating and said the share price could move 33% higher over the next 12 months.
According to the banks, Lennar is likely to benefit in the year ahead from continued strong demand for housing as the economy fully recovers from the pandemic, and the company is also offloading some of its unprofitable units which should help management focus and streamline operations.
Wall Street is expecting Lennar to report quarterly earnings of $4.14 per share, which would be 47% higher than a year ago. The company’s revenues are forecast to come in at $8.53 billion, up 25% from a year earlier. LEN stock has performed well this year, having gained 51% to currently trade at just over $115 per share.
Adobe (ADBE)
Source: r.classen / Shutterstock.comSoftware giant Adobe reports its earnings on Dec. 16, and Wall Street is forecasting that the San Jose, California-based company behind products such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat will report revenues of $4.09 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $3.20 for its most recent quarter.
The company, which was a pioneer in the software as a service (SaaS) subscription model, is now aggressively expanding into cloud computing and lining up a solid roster of clients that includes organizations ranging from the U.S. Department of the Interior to athletic apparel company Nike (NYSE:NKE).
During its last earnings announcement in September, Adobe raised its EPS guidance to $3.18 versus and lifted its revenue guidance to $4.07 billion. Any outperformance from the company could help to lift ADBE stock, which has already had a great run in 2021. Year-to-date, Adobe’s share price is up 26% to $638.13 at the start of Dec. 10. The stock has climbed 13% higher since the start of October.
With its current lofty valuation, there continue to be people calling for Adobe to announce a stock split, following the lead of other high-flying technology companies such as Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Earnings Reports Next Week: Rivian Automotive (RIVN)
Source: Miro Vrlik Photography / Shutterstock.comAll eyes will be on Rivian Automotive when the newly public electric vehicle manufacturer issues its first quarterly earnings report on Dec. 16. Rivian is the Irvine, California-based company that is making an all-electric pick-up truck and sport utility vehicle (SUV) and has major backers behind it such as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Ford (NYSE:F).
Rivian went public on Nov. 10 and its shares quickly catapulted 70% higher. While the stock has since pulled back and now trades at slightly more than $115 a share, it is still 12% above the price it was at on its first day of trading.
Analysts are still initiating coverage on RIVN stock and seem to be evenly divided between those who see the company as being a legitimate contender in the EV space and those who feel the company is grossly overvalued. Rivian’s shares took a hit recently after it was revealed that it will no longer work with Ford on the development of electric vehicles, though Ford remains a major investor in the start-up, having put $500 million into Rivian back in April 2019.
For its first earnings report, Wall Street is expecting that Rivian will report an earnings per share loss of -$12.19. There are no revenue forecasts as the company does not yet generate any.
FedEx (FDX)
Source: Antonio Gravante / Shutterstock.comShareholders of FedEx likely have their fingers crossed that the logistics and delivery company will deliver better-than-expected results when it reports third quarter earnings on Dec. 16. The Memphis, Tennessee-based company could use some good news after a difficult year in which it has had to contend with labor shortages, supply bottlenecks and disruptions and inflation pressures.
Consequently, FDX stock is down 5% on the year compared to a 25% gain for the benchmark S&P 500 stock index. In the last six months, FedEx’s share price has come down 16%. Patient shareholders will be hoping that a solid earnings beat will help shake the shares out of their current funk.
A growing number of analysts are turning bullish on FDX stock, noting that it is a bargain at its Dec. 10 opening price of $245.79 a share. JPMorgan is maintaining an “overweight” rating for FDX stock based on its current valuation while lowering its price target from $366 to $346.
FedEx has issued some statements recently that give reason for hope, notably that it expects to deliver 100 million more packages this year than it did pre-pandemic in 2019, making 2021 its busiest holiday shipping season ever. Analysts have forecast that FedEx will report EPS of $4.27 on revenue of $22.44 billion.
Earnings Reports Next Week: Darden Restaurants (DRI)
Source: ShutterstockWe end next week with an earnings report from Darden Restaurants, the Orlando, Florida-based company behind popular chain restaurants such as Olive Garden and the LongHorn Steakhouse, to name only a few of its properties.
Darden Restaurants has performed well during the economic reopening and DRI stock is up 29% on the year at $150.63 a share as of Dec. 10. The company now has a market capitalization of $18 billion. And despite its success this year, analysts see more upside ahead for the company and its shareholders. The median price target on Darden stock is currently $171 a share, implying a further 14% gain from here.
The growth forecasts reflect the fact that Darden Restaurants is only now recovering from an extremely difficult period in 2020 at the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic when most of its restaurants were forced to close or had occupancy restrictions place on them.
The company’s EPS fell 48% on a 26% drop in revenue last year. However, things have improved greatly this year, with Darden’s EPS growing 264% and its revenue climbing 214% higher in its previous quarterly print. Analysts are now looking for the company to announce EPS of $1.44 on revenue of $2.23 billion.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole held a long position in NVDA. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Joel Baglole has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal and has also written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star newspapers, as well as financial websites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia.
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Year-to-date, MTN stock is up 25% at $335.44 a share. Much of that gain occurred in the summer when Vail Resorts numerous golf courses were operating at full capacity. Investors will be hoping that the company’s third quarter results point towards a successful ski season as well.
The company has continued to offer discounts and deals in an effort to attract vacationers to its resorts, which stretch as far away as Australia, in an effort to boost capacity and sales. For the third quarter of this year, analyst are forecasting that Vail Resorts will report an EPS loss of -$3.63 on revenues of $196.82 million.
Disclosure: On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Joel Baglole has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and has also written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star newspapers, as well as financial websites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia.
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