More than 300 companies reported earnings after markets closed Thursday and before they opened again on Friday. Of those, Apple and Amazon, both of which missed revenue estimates, are getting the most notice. One firm making a better noise is U.S. Steel, trading up about 12% after also reporting results late Thursday.

No earnings reports are scheduled for release after markets close Friday. First thing Monday morning, there are two reports we have already previewed: ON Semiconductor and PG&E.

Here’s a look at two companies scheduled to report results after markets close Monday, and one more that has not announced a report date yet but that is expected to report some time during the week.

AMC

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) does not typically announce a firm date for its quarterly earnings release, but the first week of the second month following the quarterly closing date seems to be its preferred timing. At the beginning of January, AMC stock traded at around $2.00. At the end of the month, the stock traded at more than $13 a share, on its way to an intraday high of more than $72 in June.

Along with GameStop, AMC virtually created the meme stock category of heavily shorted, highly liquid equities that retail investors would invest in to force a squeeze on short sellers. Investment timing is everything, and fundamentals count for much less.

To underscore that point, of nine brokerages covering the stock, only four rate the shares a Hold and the other five have Sell or Strong Sell ratings on the stock. No analyst recommends buying the stock. At the recent price of around $35.20, the stock trades seven times higher than its median price target of $5 and more than double its high price target of $16.

Third-quarter revenue is forecast at $741.63 million, which would be up 67% sequentially and more than 500% year over year. Recall that movie houses were essentially shut down worldwide last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Analysts expect AMC to report a loss per share in the third quarter of $0.53, better than the prior quarter loss of $0.71 per share and far better than last year’s quarterly loss of $5.70. For the full year, AMC is expected to post a loss per share of $2.84 compared with last year’s loss of $16.15 per share. Revenue is forecast to double to $2.49 billion.

AMC is not expected to post a profit in 2021, 2022 or 2023. The stock trades at 10.9 times its 2021 enterprise value-to-sales ratio, 5.9 times the 2022 ratio and 5.2 times the 2023 ratio. The stock’s 52-week range is $1.91 to $72.62, and AMC does not pay a dividend.

Independent oil and gas producer Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) has seen its share price rise by more than 350% in the past 12 months, mostly thanks to rising crude oil prices. At this time last year, the spot price for crude was around $35 a barrel, while the current price is around $82.

Like most independent producers, issuing new debt to finance more drilling is not an option. Investors want to see returns on capital in the form of dividends and share price increases. These Diamondback has produced. The question is how long it (and its peers) can continue to do so. This is not a long-term growth strategy, but a medium- to long-term demise strategy.

As we might expect, analysts are bullish on Diamondback, with 29 of 33 brokerages covering the stock giving the shares a Buy or Strong Buy rating. The other four rate the stock at Hold. At the price of around $106.10, the upside potential based on a median price target of $130 is 22.5%. At the high price target of $165, the upside potential is 55.5%.

Third-quarter revenue is forecast at $1.48 billion, down 12% sequentially and more than double year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are expected to come in at $2.81, up 17% sequentially and 350% year over year. For full fiscal 2021, analysts currently expect Diamondback to post EPS of $10.72, up 253%, on revenue of $5.77 billion, up 105%.

The stock trades at 10.0 times expected 2021 EPS, 6.7 times estimated 2022 earnings and 7.4 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $24.57 to $114.73. Diamondback pays an annual dividend of $1.80 (yield of 1.61%).

NXP Semiconductor

Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) has posted a share price gain of about 55% over the past 12 months. Since posting a new all-time high in late August, however, the stock has dropped by 12%.

NXP is the second-largest producer of chips for the auto industry, a line of business with extraordinary pricing power these days. The company is expanding its production capacity, but some observers wonder if building out new fabs will lead to a supply glut in 2023 or soon thereafter. For now, though, it’s party time.

Of 29 analysts covering the company, 19 rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy and nine more rate the shares at Hold. At a price of around $200.80, the upside potential based on a median price target of $235 is 17%. At the high price target of $265, the upside potential is 32%.

Third-quarter revenue is expected to come in at $2.85 billion, up 9.8% sequentially and more than 12% higher year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $2.73, up 14.6% sequentially and 68.5% year over year. For the full year, analysts are currently looking for EPS of $10.29, up nearly 68%, on sales of $10.92 billion, up 26.8%.

NXP stock trades at 18.7 times expected 2021 EPS, 16.8 times estimated 2022 earnings and 15.3 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $132.98 to $228.72. NXP pays an annual dividend of $2.25 (yield of 1.13%).

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.