The three major U.S. equity indexes closed lower on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrials slipped 0.18% while the S&P 500 lost 0.42% and the Nasdaq fell by 1.15%. Seven of 11 sectors ended the day lower, led by consumer cyclicals (1.6%), technology (1.0%) and communications services (1.0%).

This latest report on the consumer price index (CPI) for July came in better than expected, remaining flat month over month rather than rising by 0.2%. Core CPI rose 0.3%, versus an estimate for a rise of 0.7%. The headline increase was 8.5%, compared to an estimate of 8.7%, and July’s year-over-year rise of 9.1%. In Wednesday’s premarket trading, all three major indexes traded higher, thanks to the positive message delivered by the CPI report.

After markets closed Tuesday, Coinbase missed consensus estimates on both the top and bottom lines. April was the company’s cruelest month, but the outlook may be worse. The company said in its letter to shareholders that it is “working hard to operate within the $500 million Adjusted EBITDA loss guardrail” it had previously set for 2022. Shares traded up about 2.5% Wednesday morning following the CPI report.

Array Technologies reported better-than-expected results. Revenue doubled year over year, and the company affirmed previous fiscal year earnings per share (EPS) and revenue guidance. The stock traded up by about 14% in Wednesday’s premarket.

Roblox missed the consensus EPS estimate but beat the revenue forecast. Bookings slipped 4% year over year. The stock traded down about 8%.

Trade Desk met its EPS consensus and beat on revenue. The company also issued upside guidance for the current quarter. The stock traded up more than 20%.

Unity Software posted a smaller than expected loss but missed the revenue estimate and issued downside guidance for the current quarter and the full fiscal year. Shares traded up about 3% in Wednesday’s premarket.

After markets close on Wednesday, AppLovin, Bakkt, Disney and Paysafe are on deck to report quarterly earnings.

Here are previews of four earnings reports due out after markets close on Thursday.

ESS Tech

Iron flow battery maker ESS Tech Inc. (NYSE: GWH) came public through a SPAC merger in mid-October of last year. The stock price instantly doubled but, as of Tuesday’s closing bell, shares have lost about 61% of their launch-day value.
The company’s iron flow batteries are directed at the market for long-duration storage of electricity generated from wind and solar. Compared to lithium-ion batteries, the materials used in ESS batteries are cheaper, abundant and safer. If approved by the House and signed by President Biden, the Senate-passed Inflation Reduction Act will pump some $40 billion into promoting clean energy projects through production and investment tax credits.

Of six brokerages covering the stock, analysts are evenly split between Buy and Hold ratings. At a recent share price of around $4.10, the implied upside based on a median price target of $7.00 is 70.1%. At the high target of $23.00, the upside potential is 126.6%.

Second-quarter revenue is forecast at $380,000. The company is expected to post an adjusted loss per share of $0.15, compared to a loss of $0.04 in the prior quarter and $10.31 per share in the year-ago quarter. For the 2022 fiscal year, the forecast calls for a loss per share of $0.51, compared to last year’s loss of $5.73, on revenue of $3.73 million, compared to no revenue in the prior year.

ESS is not expected to post a profit until 2024. The enterprise value to sales multiple is 111.8 for 2022, dropping to 3.2 in 2023 and 1.1 in 2024. The stock’s 52-week range is $2.59 to $28.92. The company does not pay a dividend, and the total shareholder return since the public launch was negative 59.6%.

Payoneer

Payoneer Global Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYO) provides an integrated digital payments platform that allows, among other things, cross-border payments. The stock’s share price has dropped by just over 45% over the past 12 months, but since reaching a 52-week low in mid-May, shares have bounced up by more than 50%. For the first six weeks of the current quarter, the stock is up nearly 40%. Payoneer is working on a way to automate business-to-business transactions, a category of payments that remains largely manual.

Of seven brokerages covering the stock, all have Buy or Strong Buy ratings. At a share price of around $5.50, the implied upside based on a median price target of $7.00 is 27.3%. At the high target of $9.00, the upside potential is 63.6%.

Second-quarter revenue is forecast at $131.48 million, which would be down 4.0% sequentially but up 19.3% year over year. The company is expected to post an adjusted loss per share of $0.04, compared to a loss of $0.03 in the prior quarter and $0.75 per share in the year-ago quarter. For the 2022 fiscal year, the company is forecast to post a loss per share of $0.12, compared to last year’s loss of $0.21, on revenue of $563.12 million, up 19%.

Payoneer is not expected to post a profit in 2022 or 2023. The enterprise value to sales multiple is 2.6 for 2022, dropping to 2.2 in 2023. The stock’s 52-week range is $3.33 to $10.84. The company does not pay a dividend, and the total shareholder return for the past year was negative 45.2%.

Rivian

Since its initial public offering in early November of last year, shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) soared to a gain of nearly 120%, before dropping to down 80% in mid-May. Since mid-May, however, shares have bounced up 78%.
Last month, Amazon began taking delivery of electric delivery vans. The e-commerce behemoth has ordered 100,000 of the vehicles for delivery by 2030. As the situation now stands, Rivian’s electric pickups will not be eligible for the $7,500 tax break in the Inflation Reduction Act for buyers of EVs. The company’s trucks are priced above the $80,000 ceiling. That is expected to change a few years down the road.

Of 16 analysts covering the stock, 11 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and four more rate the shares at Hold. At a price of around $36.70 a share, the upside potential based on a median price target of $46.00 is 25.3%. At the high target of $108.00, the upside potential is 194%.

Analysts expect Rivian to report second-quarter sales of $337.96 million, up 256% sequentially. The company is expected to post an adjusted loss per share of $1.63, compared to a prior-quarter loss of $1.43. For the full 2022 fiscal year ending in December, analysts are forecasting an adjusted loss per share of $6.42 compared to a prior-year loss of $14.78 per share. Sales are forecast to reach $1.84 billion, up more than 3,200%.

Rivian is not expected to post a profit in 2022, 2023 or 2024. The enterprise value to sales multiple is 9.9 for 2022, dropping to 2.9 in 2023 and 1.5 in 2024. The stock’s post-IPO range is $19.25 to $179.47.

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Toast

Since coming public in late September, Toast Inc. (NYSE: TOST) has seen its share price sink by nearly 64%. The company operates a cloud-based and digital technology platform for the U.S. and Irish restaurant industries. Since putting up its post-IPO low in mid-May, shares have added about 19%.

When Toast reported better-than-expected first-quarter results in May, it also raised full-year guidance. That probably accounts for the turnaround in the share-price direction. More growth this time around could give the shares an even bigger boost.

Of 16 brokerages covering the stock, 10 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating, and the rest rate the shares at Hold. At a share price of around $17.00, the implied gain based on a median price target of $21.50 is almost 20%. Based on the high price target of $27.00, the upside potential for the stock is about 46.5%.

Analysts expect the company to report first-quarter revenue of $647.62 million, up 21% sequentially. Analysts also expect an adjusted loss per share of $0.12, better than the prior quarter’s loss of $0.20. For the full 2022 fiscal year, Toast is currently expected to post a loss per share of $0.39, smaller than last year’s loss of $0.82 per share, on revenue of $2.54 billion, up 48.8%.

Toast is not expected to post a profit in 2022, 2023 or 2024. The enterprise value-to-sales multiple is expected to be 3.0 in 2022. Based on average estimated sales of $3.35 billion and $4.28 billion for 2023 and 2024, respectively, the multiple is 2.3 for 2023 and 1.8 for 2024. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $11.91 to $69.93. Toast does not pay a dividend.

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