With President Joseph Biden's new stimulus package in the final stages of the negotiation and the abating of the Reddit-inspired stock market frenzy, investors turned their attention back to fundamental market conditions last week.
The Reddit-fueled trading frenzy in some strongly short stocks in recent weeks may have been a distraction to investors who may have missed some great earnings results from megacap technology companies. Currently, technology is leading all other industries with more than 95% of companies in the industry reporting excellent earnings expectations, according to data collected by Bloomberg. In terms of revenues, 88% exceeded estimates.
Below is our list of three major revenue announcements scheduled for next week that may provide some insight into how companies are changing their strategies for survival during the pandemic.
1. Disney
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE 🙂 reports earnings for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 after the closing clock on Thursday, February 11. Analysts expect $ 15.89 billion in revenue and – $ 0.33 loss per share.
The House of the Mouse took it during the pandemic because the major travel companies – theme parks, cruises and hotels – that thrive on shared group experiences suffer from lockdowns.
A bright spot in the upcoming earnings report, however, could be subscriber numbers to the new Disney + streaming service, which takes advantage of the stay-at-home environment. Shares of the entertainment giant are up about 25% in the past year, after falling about 40% in March. This strong recovery shows investor confidence in the company's business model and the ability to thrive again when the economy reopens. Shares closed at $ 181.16 Friday
2. Twitter
Social media platform Twitter (NYSE 🙂 will report fourth quarter earnings for the coming week. Analysts expect earnings per share of $ 0.29 on revenue of $ 1.18 billion when it reports Tuesday, Feb. 9, after the close.
Judging by the latest earnings reports from other social media giants, it may have come from the San Francisco, California-based company, especially during the period when the US closed its presidential election and Twitter traffic boomed.
But in order for Twitter stock to rise further, the company would also need to show strong gains in subscriber acquisition. The stock, which closed at $ 56.78 Friday, has richly rewarded investors over the past 3 months, up about 30% over that period. period
3. Coca-Cola
The largest soft drink company in the world, Coca-Cola (NYSE :), is scheduled to generate revenues for the fourth quarter of 2020 on Wednesday, February 10, before the market opens. Analysts expect an average of $ 0.42 per share on sales of $ 8.61 billion.
With so many of his restaurant customers closed during the pandemic, the sale of the Atlanta-based company is under pressure. The beverage and snack giant told investors it expects growth in China even as global sales continue to decline due to lockdown-triggered closings of restaurants, bars, cinemas and sports stadiums elsewhere in the world.
In China, where the coronavirus originated, consumers & # 39; have more or less returned to where they were & # 39; before the pandemic started, although out-of-home sales are not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, said John Murphy, Coke's chief financial officer. told The Wall Street Journal.
Shares of Coca-Cola, which closed at $ 49.65 Friday, are down nearly 16% in the past year. Investors will also be curious about the Q4 earnings report as to whether the company manages to halt the slowing soft drink trade and expand sales of non-sugary products.
