All three major U.S. equity indexes posted dips of less than 1% Thursday, likely due to general ennui over an equities market that cannot seem to get any traction on a slippery slope. Walmart, Target and Cisco were among the day’s leading losers.

After markets closed Thursday, Applied Materials reported top-line and bottom-line numbers that missed expectations thanks to coronavirus lockdowns in China. Without getting specific, the company said that next year will be better than this year. Shares traded down about 2% in Friday’s premarket.

Palo Alto Networks beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines, and the company raised earnings per share (EPS) and revenue guidance. The stock traded up more than 11% early Friday.

Ross Stores missed estimates on both the top and bottom lines. The stock is getting hammered in Friday’s premarket trading, down more than 26%.

Deere beat the consensus EPS estimate by 1.8% and missed on revenue. Net income guidance was raised, mostly due to a one-time gain of $220 million in the current quarter. Shares traded down more than 4% in Friday’s premarket

Foot Locker also beat the consensus EPS estimate and missed on revenue. The company reaffirmed fiscal year guidance and said it expects same-store sales to be down 8% to 10%. Shares traded up 2.5% in the premarket session.

Here is a look at three firms set to report earnings on Monday or Tuesday.

Frontline

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) operates a fleet of 70 tankers transporting crude oil and refined products worldwide. The stock has added 9.5% over the past 12 months, but since reaching its peak in early March, shares have dropped more than 14%. Partly that is due to a slowdown in Chinese demand and partly it is due to the weakening global economy. Frontline is scheduled to report results before markets open on Tuesday.

As with most oil tanker firms, Frontline could stand to prosper from Europe’s abandonment of Russian oil. That would mean that Russian crude would have to travel much further, probably to Asia, and demand for tankers would rise. Orders for newbuild tankers have fallen to a 36-year low, and the combination points toward a rise in day rates.

Of just four analysts covering the company, three have a Buy or Strong Buy rating. At a recent price of around $8.90 a share, the stock trades just below its median price target of $9.00. At the high price target of $11.00, the upside potential is 23.6%.

First-quarter revenue is forecast at $106.78 million, which would be up 6.1% sequentially but down 0.3% year over year. Analysts expect an adjusted loss of $0.01 per share, compared to a loss of $0.02 per share in the prior quarter and EPS of $0.04 in the year-ago quarter. For the full 2022 fiscal year, Frontline is expected to report EPS of $0.56, up from a loss per share of $0.28 in 2021, on revenue of $584.05 million, up 63.7%.

The stock trades at 15.9 times expected 2022 EPS and 7.2 times estimated 2023 earnings of $1.23 per share. Frontline’s 52-week trading range is $6.10 to $10.43. The company has suspended its dividend and was, therefore, not among the seven shipping stocks with massive dividends we recently reviewed. Total shareholder return for the past year was 6.63%.

China-based electric vehicle maker Xpeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) has seen its share price drop by about 13.6% over the past 12 months. Since putting up a 52-week high on November 30, the shares are down 57%. Xpeng is scheduled to report quarterly results before markets open on Monday.

Xpeng is included among the more than 80 Chinese companies threatened with delisting on U.S. exchanges for failing to meet federal accounting requirements. The company has until May 25 to dispute its inclusion on the SEC list.

All 17 analysts covering the stock have a Buy or Strong Buy rating. At a share price of around $23.60, the upside potential based on a median price target of $47.46 is 101%. At the high price target of $63.64, the upside potential is almost 170%.

First-quarter revenue is forecast at $1.1 billion, down 18% sequentially and 62.7% lower year over year. The company’s adjusted loss per share is forecast at $0.30, compared to a per-share loss of $0.11 in the prior quarter. A year ago, Xpeng reported a loss per share of $0.88 in the March quarter. For full fiscal 2022, the company is expected to post a loss per share of $0.93, compared with 2021’s loss of $0.81 per share, on sales of $6.3 billion, up 90.8%.

Xpeng is not expected to report a profit in 2022 or 2023. The stock trades at 227.6 times estimated 2024 EPS of $0.10. The stock’s 52-week range is $18.01 to $56.45. Xpeng does not pay a dividend, and total shareholder return for the past year is negative 14.6%.

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Zoom Video

Over the past 12 months, shares of Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) have dropped by almost 71%. Since posting a 12-month high in early July of last year, the stock is down by 77%. The company has so far failed to convince investors that it has a plan for growth that doesn’t include a pandemic and a lot of free money sloshing around for people to invest. Zoom’s outlook is further fogged by having to face Microsoft as its chief competitor. The company reports results late Monday.

Analysts are showing mixed sentiment on the stock, with 15 Hold ratings, 10 Buy ratings and four Strong Buy ratings out of a total of 30 brokerages covering the stock. At a share price of around $90.90, the upside potential based on a median price target of $150.00 is 65%. At the high price target of $295.00, the upside potential is 225%.

First-quarter revenue is forecast at $1.07 billion, up 0.2% sequentially and 11.9% year over year. Adjusted EPS are pegged at $0.88, down 32.1% sequentially and 33.3% lower year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year ending in January, current estimates call for EPS of $4.08, down 29.3%, on sales of $4.54 billion, up 10.8%.

The stock trades at 25.4 times expected 2023 EPS, 22.3 times estimated 2024 earnings of $4.08 and 21.7 times estimated 2025 earnings of $4.19 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $79.03 to $406.48. Zoom does not pay a dividend, and total shareholder return for the past year is negative 70.7%.

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