Earnings reporting season is almost upon us, with a few of the major banks kicking it off on Friday. But with this season comes high expectations, as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 have risen recently to near all-time highs. This earnings season will be driven by some of the biggest companies in the United States, but they have to hit their targets first if the markets want to keep up their momentum.
24/7 Wall St. has put together a snapshot of some of the major companies reporting this earnings season that absolutely must make forecasts to keep pace.
It goes without saying that if these major companies miss their earnings estimates, or even offer weak guidance, it could spell disaster. Out of the group that has been selected, the average gain so far in 2018 has been roughly 52%, easily outpacing the broad markets. With this much momentum built up, one miss on the quarterly report could easily derail any of these companies. And if these companies want to keep their status as the top dogs in their respective industries, as well as their gains, they must beat this quarter.
We have included some brief color and background on each company, as well as their consensus earnings estimates from Thomson Reuters, trading history and market cap.
Be advised that the earnings and revenue estimates may change ahead of the formal reports, and some companies may change reporting dates as well.
Amazon
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is the absolute leader in online retail and dominant player in cloud storage business, and it remains one of the top picks on Wall Street. There’s no wonder why, as so far in 2018 Amazon has seen its shares add about 49%. This e-commerce empire is expected to report earnings on July 26, although no formal date has been announced yet.
Analysts have been chasing this stock higher for what seems like forever. But since its most recent earnings report, when there was a consensus target of $1,669.74, analysts have shifted their targets up 10.7% on average to a new consensus of $1,848.12.
Looking ahead to the coming quarter, Thomson Reuters consensus estimates call for $2.54 in earnings per share (EPS) and $53.44 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.40 and $37.95 billion in revenue.
Shares of Amazon were last seen trading at $1,739.02, with a 52-week range of $931.75 to $1,763.10. The company has a total market cap of nearly $844 billion.
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is a leading video game developer that should benefit from not only the continuing rise in new console sales but the rising trend of mobile gaming. This company produces top-selling games and related content and services under the EA brand in various categories, including action-adventure, role-playing, racing and first-person shooter games. So far in 2018, EA shares have climbed about 38%. The company is scheduled to report earnings on July 26.
At the end of April, just prior to the release of its fiscal fourth-quarter report, analysts had an average consensus target of $137.50 for the stock. Since then, they have hiked their targets about 8.5% to the new consensus of $149.24.
The consensus estimates are $0.07 in EPS and $744.46 million in revenue for the fiscal first quarter. In the same period of last year, it said it had $0.31 in EPS on revenue of $775 million.
Shares of EA closed most recently at $144.64. The 52-week trading range is $99.63 to $147.13, and the company has a total market cap of $44 billion.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) operates the largest social network, with over 2.0 billion monthly active users and over 1.4 billion daily active users. The company generates revenue from advertising and from payments, with over 95% of revenue from advertising. So far in 2018, Facebook shares have gained roughly 16%. The company is scheduled to report earnings on July 25.
While this stock saw a hiccup in March, it has not stopped analysts from raising their targets. When Facebook last reported earnings in April, analysts had a consensus target of $217.90. Since that time, they have raised their targets an average of 4% to the new consensus of $226.73.
For this quarter, consensus estimates are $1.72 in EPS and $13.34 billion in revenue. In the second quarter of last year, Facebook posted $1.32 in EPS and $9.32 billion in revenue.
Shares of Facebook were last seen at $204.74. The 52-week range is $149.02 to $205.80, and the total market cap is $593 billion.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) is an absolute software giant that has been adding to its holdings at an increasingly faster pace all of this year and last. The cloud was big in the recent earnings report and looks to keep growing. So far in 2018, Microsoft has seen its shares increase about 19%. The company plans on reporting results on July 19.
Although Microsoft may not be one of the more explosive companies on this list, it is consistently beating the market. Analysts put their consensus target at $105.21 when Microsoft last reported but since then have hiked the target an average of 7.0% to the new consensus of $112.56.
Thomson Reuters consensus estimates are $1.08 in EPS and revenue of $29.22 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter. That compares to the $1.06 in EPS and $24.7 billion in revenue reported in the year-ago quarter.
Microsoft traded at $101.85 a share, within a 52-week range of $69.75 to $102.69. The total market cap is $782.5 billion.
Netflix
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is the world’s leading internet television network, with more than 70 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. So far in 2018, Netflix shares have gained 118%. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on July 16.
Again, analysts seem like they have chased this stock higher for the longest time. Looking back to when it reported in April, the consensus target was only $286.62, and since that time it has risen 27.4% to the current consensus of $365.07. Keep in mind this was only a three-month period.
The consensus estimates call for $0.79 in EPS and $3.94 billion in revenue for the quarter. The same period of last year had $0.15 in EPS and $2.79 billion in revenue.
Shares of Netflix were last seen at $418.97. The 52-week range is $151.55 to $423.21. The total market cap is $182 billion.
NetApp
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) provides software, systems and services to manage and store computer data worldwide. It offers flash, flash arrays that support data management and hybrid arrays to deploy the speed of flash storage, among many other cloud services. So far in 2018, NetApp shares have increased 43.5%. The company plans to report its most recent quarterly results on August 15.
Back in April, analysts had a consensus target of $69.36 for the stock. In the months since then, they have increased their targets an average of 9% to $75.61.
For this quarter, consensus estimates are $0.80 in EPS on revenue of $1.42 billion. The fiscal first quarter of last year had EPS of $0.62 and $1.32 billion in revenue.
NetApp shares were last seen at $79.39, in a 52-week range of $37.55 to $79.90. The company has a total market cap of roughly $21 billion.
Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) operates one of the largest social media platforms on the planet that allows users to consume, create, distribute and discover content. Although Facebook has a stranglehold on social media, Twitter has become increasingly popular with the younger generation. So far in 2018, Twitter has seen its shares rise about 84%. The company is scheduled to report on July 27.
Twitter has not always been a favorite of analysts, with many questioning how it plans to monetize its platform. But that hasn’t stopped analysts from hiking their targets on the stock. Back in April, the consensus target was $27.52, and since then it has risen 18.1% to $32.52.
Consensus estimates of $0.16 in EPS and $692.7 million in revenue compare with the $0.08 in EPS and $573.86 million in revenue posted in the year-ago period.
Shares of Twitter were last seen at $44.14, in a 52-week range of $15.67 to $47.79. The company has a total market cap of $33 billion.
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