Nine of 30 DJIA Earnings Reports This Week Alone: Full Previews

Investing

Published: October 14, 2013 11:45 am

Earnings season is upon us, and as of Monday we have no resolution on the government shutdown and the debt ceiling debate. These crucial issues are expected to be resolved, but right now America is having to pay attention to the private sector for its guidance on the economy. It turns out this week alone, nine of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) components are reporting earnings.

24/7 Wall St. has prepared a calendar with full earnings previews of the DJIA earnings reports due. We have used consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters for earnings per share (EPS) and revenue expectations. We also have added color and trading data on each. No consensus estimates for the coming quarter were provided because companies are complaining daily about having limited visibility due to the situation in Washington.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is expected to report earnings after the close on Tuesday. Estimates are $0.53 EPS and $13.47 billion in revenue. Trading near $23.29, its 52-week range is $19.23 to $25.98. We recently highlighted how Intel is looking more and more like a great stealthy value and growth stock despite the PC business declines. We would make note that the recent rebalancing of the DJIA made Intel’s weighting worth just under 1% of the index, so this now has limited impact on the market directly.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reports on Tuesday morning, and estimates are $1.32 EPS and $17.43 billion in revenue. Our take is that many of the major recall issues have been resolved, but some do not agree on this matter. Either way, this company keeps growing slowly and steadily in earnings and dividends. At $88.92, it has a 52-week range of $68.07 to $94.42.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) reports on Tuesday morning, and estimates are $0.53 EPS and revenue of $12.05 billion. What has been hard to ignore is that Coke’s stock price has been very poor since the peak in May. It is almost as if the sugar-fighting woes of America and elsewhere finally are coming home to cause serious concerns. Trading at $37.65, its 52-week trading range is $35.58 to $43.43.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) reports on Wednesday afternoon right after the close. The consensus estimates are $1.22 EPS and $8.22 billion in revenue. We will be watching delinquencies again closely. The share price of $75.25 compares to a range of $53.02 to $78.63 over the past 52-weeks.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is also due after the close on Wednesday. The consensus estimates are $3.96 EPS and $24.73 billion in revenue. The key metric we pay attention to is the backlog of services. Last quarter this was put at up by 3% to $141 billion, but the backlog would have been up 7% if adjusted for currency changes. We would warn that charges for restructuring and layoffs may continue to plague an apples-to-apples comparison, and the quest for $20 in EPS is still coming at too big of a price. With shares around $186, the 52-week trading range for Big Blue is $178.71 to $215.90.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) reports earnings on Thursday morning, and this is among the newest of the DJIA components after a fresh component shift. The top investment bank’s consensus estimates are $2.44 EPS and $7.36 billion in revenue. The issues we will watch closest are trading revenues and investment banking revenues. At $158, the stock has traded in a range of $113.84 to $170.00 over the past 52-weeks.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) often still is overlooked as a DJIA component by many investors because it is a fairly recent addition. It reports Thursday morning before the open, and the consensus estimates for the health care insurance giant are $1.53 EPS and $30.83 billion in revenue. This just shows how large the health care business is, even after the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is taken into consideration. Trading near $62.10, its 52-week range is $51.09 to $75.88.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) reports on Thursday morning. Estimates for the telecom giant are $0.75 EPS and revenue of $30.17 billion. Note that the Vodafone deal for Verizon Wireless has closed and the huge debt offering may throw off the numbers for the past quarter. It is possible that the numbers will be hard to interpret for more than just one quarter. Verizon’s stock price near $47 compares to a 52-week trading range of $40.51 to $54.31.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reports earnings on Friday morning. Estimates for the largest conglomerate are $0.35 EPS and $35.96 billion in revenue. We still expect GE to announce its plans for parts of GE Capital’s consumer operations, but we cannot automatically expect that we will hear about this with earnings. GE’s share price of $24.20 compares to a 52-week range of $19.87 to $24.95. GE does represent the economy, based on it being the largest conglomerate by market cap, but it now barely has a 1% DJIA weighting after the recent rebalance.

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