Stocks rose on Friday, with the major averages making their biggest one-day gains of the year to end a rollercoaster week in financial markets.
Emphasizing the extreme, the benchmark recorded an intraday range of at least 2.2% during each session of the week.
The coming week is expected to be another busy week with more revenue from notable tech companies, including Google parent alphabet (NASDAQ:), Amazon (NASDAQ:), Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:), PayPal (NASDAQ:), Snap (NYSE:), Spotify (NYSE:), and Pinterest (NYSE:).
Additional high-profile industrial and discretionary companies such as Exxon Mobil, Ford (NYSE:), General Motors (NYSE:), United Parcel Service (NYSE:), Starbucks (NASDAQ:) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:) will also see their last release results.
Add to that the important economic data coming our way, including the latest ISM surveys, and the US on Friday, and the week ahead is expected to be a busy one.
Regardless of which direction the market goes, below we highlight one stock that is likely to be in high demand and another that could fall further.
Remember, however, that our timetable is for the coming week only. year-on-year, shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:) could see more buying activity in the coming week as investors look ahead to strong fourth-quarter financial results from one of the world's largest energy companies.
Consensus expectations call for the Irving, Texas-based giant to post earnings per share of $1.93 when it reports Q4 numbers ahead of the opening bell on Tuesday, Feb. 1, up more than 6,000% from earnings per share of $0.03 in the turbulent period from a year ago.
Revenues are expected to grow approximately 83% to $85.0 billion as the company benefits from higher raw material prices, improved global demand and streamlined operations.
If confirmed, Exxon's quarterly earnings and sales totals would be the highest of the energy supermajor since 2014, reflecting a strong recovery from the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, the largest US energy producer suffered a massive $22.4 billion loss amid falling oil prices and sluggish global demand.
Besides the top and bottomline numbers, investors will be eager to hear if the Big Oil major has plans to return more cash to shareholders in the form of higher share buybacks and dividend payments .
The Exxon board previously said it will initiate a share repurchase program of up to $10 billion from 2022, spanning the next 12 to 24 months. It also approved its first dividend hike in more than two years, a sign of how well the company has performed in the current environment. Exxon currently offers an annualized dividend of $3.52 per share at a relatively high yield of 4.68%.
Exxon Mobil – which is up 23% so far – has outperformed the high-growth energy sector this year, finishing higher in 14 of the first 19 trading sessions of 2022.
XOM shares, which climbed to $76.01 on Thursday to hit their best level since July 2019, closed Friday's session at $75.28. At current valuations, Exxon has a market capitalization of $318.7 billion. another volatile week as investors brace for disappointing financial results from the social media giant, which is expected to close on Wednesday, Feb. 2 after the US market closes.
Shares of the Menlo Park, California-based company got off to a shaky start through 2022 and are down nearly 11% so far this year, amid sell-offs in many leading tech names amid concerns over the Federal Reserve's plans. Reserve to raise interest rates.
FB – which plunged to a 10-month low of $289.01 on Jan. 24 – closed Friday at $301.71, about 21.5% below its all-time high in September. At current levels, Meta is valued at $839.2 billion, making it the fifth most valuable company traded in the US stock market.
Analysts call for fourth-quarter earnings per share of $3.85, down about 1% from earnings per share of $3.88 in the same period a year earlier, reflecting higher costs and investments associated with Meta's hardware and Virtual Reality (VR) segment. If confirmed, it would be that of the tech company in more than two years.
Meanwhile, revenues are forecast to rise 19% year-over-year to $33.3 billion, thanks to picking up advertiser demand and higher ad prices on Facebook and Instagram, which took a hit last year after privacy changes to the iOS operating system from Apple (NASDAQ:)
For the first time in the company's history, Meta will break out its "Facebook Reality Labs," which focuses on consumer hardware such as Oculus virtual reality headsets, into its own reporting segment. It will also release growth stats for its "Family of Apps" unit, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.
In addition, investors will focus on comments on CEO Mark Zuckerberg's post-profit call regarding Meta's big commitment to build and develop the metaverse, a virtual world simulation considered to be the next-generation version. from the internet.
