With less than a week to go before the highly anticipated US presidential election, the market could be a bit bigger, especially if the outcome is not immediately clear.
Regardless of who wins, these three stocks are in a strong position to win:
1. Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation (NYSE :), that industrial automation and information services has seen its shares outperform the broader market this year, up around 17. Even more impressively, shares have more than doubled. (+ 105%) from their mid-March low in the bear market.
Regardless of a Trump or Biden victory, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based industrial equipment and software manufacturer is likely to be a major beneficiary of any post-election stimulus bill aimed at boosting economic activity in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Rockwell's stock closed at $ 236.88 on Tuesday, not far from its all-time high of $ 251.95 on October 16. It has a market capitalization of approximately $ 27.5 billion.
The company reported solid fiscal results at the end of July and exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, despite the uncertain economic climate triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The information technology provider – which has surpassed earnings and revenue estimates for four consecutive quarters – then reports financial results before the US market opens on Tuesday, November 10.
While top and bottom line numbers are both expected to have fallen sharply from the same period a year ago, the numbers are likely to have improved from the previous quarter, given the modest economic recovery.
The consensus calls for earnings per share of $ 1.75 for the fiscal fourth quarter, compared to earnings per share of $ 1.27 in the last quarter. Revenue is expected to contract at $ 1.58 billion, up nearly 14% quarter-over-quarter from $ 1.39 billion. These figures compare to earnings of $ 2.01 per share a year ago on sales of $ 1.73 billion.
Market players will also focus on Rockwell's outlook for the remainder of the year and beyond. It raised its full year earnings per share forecast for fiscal 2020 from $ 7.40 to $ 7.60 in the last quarter, up from $ 6.90 to $ 7.70.
2. Pfizer
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE 🙂 is one of the front runners in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine. The company is partnering with German drug manufacturer BioNTech (NASDAQ 🙂 to develop its vaccine, which is currently in late-stage clinical trials in the United States
The New York-based company reported on Tuesday that nearly 36,000 people have already received a second vaccination in the Phase 2/3 clinical trial involving 42,000 participants.
Speaking to shareholders during the company's call, CEO Albert Bourla noted that new vaccine data was scheduled to be released by the end of October. However, that information won't be released until Pfizer's data and safety auditing board carries out its review of the drug, most likely in the second half of November.
No matter who wins the election, rolling out a nationwide vaccination program to ensure people are safe from the coronavirus is something both candidates can agree on.
The stock, which fell 4.5% in 2020, was yesterday settled at $ 37.43. It has a market cap of nearly $ 208 billion.
Pfizer reported a third quarter of $ 0.72, a few cents higher than estimates. However, revenues were down 4% to $ 12.13 billion from a year earlier, with predictions of $ 12.31 billion missed as the global pandemic reduced demand for certain therapies.
The pharmaceutical company now expects full-year earnings of between $ 2.88 and $ 2.93 per share, with sales between $ 48.8 billion and $ 49.5 billion.
In response to the uncertain political landscape, Bourla called the elections an "artificial milestone".
He said:
"This is not going to be a Republican vaccine or a Democratic vaccine, it will be a vaccine for the world's citizens."
3. NextEra Energy
NextEra Energy (NYSE :), the largest US provider of renewable energy, boomed this year due to growing demand for wind and solar -energy.
The Juno Beach, Florida-based utility giant, which approved a four-to-one stock split earlier this month, is expanding beyond its traditional utility customers. It is already installing wind and solar parks for large companies that want to run facilities with green energy.
As such, it appears to be ready to continue to benefit from the ongoing shift to clean energy regardless of the election outcome.
Stocks in NO are up about 25% this year, ahead of returns on and over the same period. The stock, which hit a record high of $ 77.01 on October 12, ended at $ 75.78 yesterday.
In a symbolic milestone, the market cap of $ 148.4 billion surpassed the largest US traditional energy names, including Exxon Mobil (NYSE 🙂 at $ 138.7 billion and Chevron (NYSE 🙂 at $ 133.8 billion.
The company reported mixed third-quarter results last week, with earnings per share of 11% from the same period last year to $ 2.66. Sales declined 14% year over year to $ 4.79 billion. The consensus estimate was $ 2.59 per share on sales of $ 5.44 billion.
More importantly, NextEra Energy increased its guidelines for years to come, citing the continued strength of the renewable energy development environment and continued implementation across all of its businesses.
"NextEra Energy has delivered strong third quarter results and remains well positioned to meet our 2020 and longer term growth prospects," CEO Jim Robo said in the company's earnings release on Oct. 21.
The world's largest wind and solar generator now expects to earn between $ 2.40 and $ 2.53 per share by 2021, up from previous expectations of $ 2.35 to $ 2.48. It also said it expects EPS to grow 6% to 8% in 2022 and 2023.
Referring to the upcoming election, management said it was well positioned to be successful regardless of the outcome.
Should Trump win a second term, "we expect to continue our strong momentum and focus on our strategies and their implementation." Conversely, "if Biden is the new president, he has made it clear on his platform that he has strong support for renewables."
