Of the four companies we previewed that reported quarterly results Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, two (Stitch Fix and General Mills) posted gains Wednesday morning and two others (Adobe and FedEx) showed losses.

After markets close Wednesday and before they reopen Thursday, BlackBerry and Rite Aid are set to report quarterly results. We posted our previews of those companies on Tuesday.
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Here are previews of three companies reporting results Thursday afternoon and one reporting earnings first thing Friday.

Costco

Warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) stock has gained more than 37% over the past 12 months, including a gain of more than 20% in 2021. Sales have continued to rise during the company’s fiscal fourth quarter ended in August, but same-store sales growth has dipped. Rising costs may have cut into margin growth, even though Costco ended in March its premium of $2 per hour for employees who worked during the pandemic. Expectations are set fairly high for Thursday night’s report.

Of 33 analysts covering the stock, 22 give the shares a Buy or Strong Buy rating and another nine have a Hold rating on the stock. At a recent price of around $451.90, the upside potential based on a median price target of $470 is 4%. At the high target of $515, the upside potential is nearly 14%.

Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue is expected to increase by nearly 36% sequentially to $61.45 billion, up 15% year over year. The forecast for adjusted earnings per share (EPS) is $3.54, up 28.7% sequentially and 16.4% year over year. For the full fiscal year, analysts have forecast EPS at $10.72, up 16%, and revenue at $194.63 billion, up 16.7%.

Based on the current price, the stock trades at 42.1 times expected fiscal 2021 EPS, 38.5 times estimated 2022 earnings, and 34.8 times estimated 2024 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $307.00 to $469.77. Costco pays an annual dividend of $3.16 (yield of 0.7%).

Nike

Athletic gear maker Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) reports fiscal 2022 first-quarter results after markets close Thursday. The stock has gained nearly 40% over the past 12 months, including a gain of 11.7% for the year to date. The Dow 30 component has said it expects to generate $50 billion in sales this year, a jump of 12% over its 2020 total. The company’s EPS outlook calls for growth in the mid- to high teens, well above its long-term growth rate of just over 12%. As with Costco, expectations are high.

Of 29 analysts covering the stock, 24 have rated the stock a Buy or Strong Buy, and four others rate the shares at Hold. At a price of around $157.00, the implied upside based on a median price target of $185 is 17.8%. At the high target of $221, the implied upside is nearly 41%.

First-quarter revenue is tabbed at $12.4 billion, up about 1% sequentially and 17.7% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $1.12, up 20.3% sequentially and nearly 18% year over year. The current estimate for the company’s 2022 revenue is $49.79 billion, up nearly 12%, while EPS is expected to rise by 17.5% to $4.18.

Nike stock trades at a multiple of 36.9 times expected 2022 EPS, 30.9 times estimated 2023 earnings and 26.5 times estimated 2024 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $118.80 to $174.38. Nike pays an annual dividend of $1.10 (yield of 0.71%).

Travel services giant Trip.com Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: TCOM) has posted a 12-month gain of just under 2%. For the year to date, the company’s stock has dropped more than 14%. Since the beginning of 2020, the Shanghai-based company has dropped more than 15% and, as recently as last month, shares traded down more than 28%.
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Like other travel-related companies, the ever-shifting outlook for the coronavirus pandemic is weighing Trip.com’s business and its stock price. Assuming the company is worth something near its 52-week high of around $45 a share, the stock may begin to attract some interest from investors who buy the dip. The company reports results after markets close Thursday.

Analysts remain bullish on the stock, with 24 of 35 rating the stock a Buy or Strong Buy. Another 10 have put a Hold rating on the shares. At a price of around $28.90, the upside potential based on a median price target of $43.13 is 49%. At the high target of $51.51, the upside potential rises to 78%.

Analysts expect Trip.com com to report second-quarter 2021 revenue of $883.13 million, up nearly 41% sequentially and nearly double last year’s total of $447.1 million. Adjusted EPS are tabbed at $0.07, up from a loss per share of $0.05 in the prior quarter and a year-ago loss of $0.27 per share. For the 2021 fiscal year, current estimates call for EPS of $0.50 on sales of $3.66 billion.

The stock trades at 55.4 times expected 2021 EPS, 18.6 times estimated 2022 earnings and 14.1 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $23.61 to $45.19, and Trip.com does not pay a dividend.

Carnival

Cruise line operator Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) has added about 66% to its share price over the past 12 months. Since peaking this year in early June, the stock has dropped nearly 24%. Only about 50% of its U.S. fleet is sailing again and the United Kingdom has said it will ease its rules for international travelers. Since January of 2020, the stock is down more than 54%. Carnival is reporting third-quarter 2021 results before markets open Friday.

Analysts are more mixed on Carnival than they are on Trip.com. Of 18 brokerages covering Carnival, just eight rate the shares as a Buy or Strong Buy. Another seven rate the stock a Hold. At a price of around $23.70, the upside potential based on a median price target of $28 is 18%. At the high target of $40, the potential gain is almost 69%.

Second-quarter revenue is expected to nearly double from $26 million in the first quarter to $50 million. Last year, Carnival reported revenue of $700 million in the second quarter and $4.79 billion in the first quarter. Analysts are looking for a per-share loss of $1.80 compared to a loss per share in the year-ago quarter of $3.30 and a loss per share of $1.79 in the prior quarter. For the 2021 fiscal year ending in November, the loss per share is pegged at $6.03, compared to last year’s loss of $7.47 per share, while revenue is expected to be down by about 50% at $2.76 billion.

Carnival stock trades at 104.8 times estimated 2022 earnings and 11.6 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $12.11 to $31.52, and the company has suspended its dividend.

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