In the first half-hour of trading Monday, the Dow Jones industrials were up 0.07%, the S&P 500 up 0.15% and the Nasdaq 0.17% higher.

Before markets opened on Monday, Dow component Coca-Cola reported better-than-forecast earnings per share (EPS) and revenue. The company expects to see fiscal year EPS of $2.58 to $2.60, in line with Wall Street estimates and prior guidance. Currency exchange rates will be a headwind in the second quarter and the rest of the year. Shares traded up about 1% Monday morning.

After U.S. markets close on Monday, Cleveland-Cliffs, First Republic Bank and Range Resources will report quarterly results. General Electric, GE Healthcare, General Motors, Raytheon and UPS are on deck to report earnings Tuesday morning.

Here are previews of five companies set to report results after markets close on Tuesday.

Alphabet

The parent of Google, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), like many other tech giants, spent most of the first quarter recovering from the beatdowns it received in 2022. Alphabet has added about 19.5% to its share price so far in 2023, with most of that coming in the first quarter.

Now Alphabet is trying to recover from a misstep when it introduced its chatbot feature and defend its search business from upstarts like, say, Microsoft. The company has laid off thousands of employees as it tries to rein in costs ahead of an expected slowdown in advertising. Investors are also going to be listening for more specifics about Alphabet’s AI plans.

Analysts, however, remain strongly bullish on the stock. Of 52 ratings, 47 are Buy or Strong Buy, and the rest are Hold ratings. At a recent price of around $105.40 a share, the upside potential based on a median price target of $126.00 is 19.5%. At the high price target of $160.00, the upside potential is 51.8%.

First-quarter revenue is forecast at $68.83 billion, which would be down 9.5% sequentially but up 1.2% year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are pegged at $1.07, up 2.1% sequentially and 13.0% lower year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year, consensus estimates call for EPS of $5.07, up 11.2%, on revenue of $298.62 billion, up 5.6%.

Alphabet stock trades at 20.8 times expected 2023 EPS, 17.5 times estimated 2024 earnings of $6.05 and 14.7 times estimated 2025 earnings of $7.21 per share. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $83.34 to $125.40. The company does not pay a dividend, and the total shareholder return for the past 12 months is negative 15.55%.

Enphase Energy

Solar energy component maker Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) has seen its share price jump by 42.8% over the past year. Shares have dropped more than 15% this year, however, and are recovering from a 52-week low posted in mid-March. The stock is up 20.5% since March 17. The market for the company’s inverters remains strong, and Enphase is expected to have gained market share and margin during the first quarter.
Brokerages remain bullish on Enphase Energy stock, with 27 of 36 analysts having a Buy or Strong Buy rating and the other nine rating the stock at Hold. At a share price of around $223.60, the implied gain based on a median price target of $285.00 is about 27.5%. At the high target of $365.00, the upside potential is 63.2%.

For the first quarter, analysts have forecast revenue of $720.16 million, down 0.6% sequentially but 63.2% higher year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $1.22, down 19.2% sequentially and up 54.4% year over year. For the 2023 fiscal year, analysts estimate EPS at $5.55, up 20.1%, on revenue of $3.18 billion, up 36.2%.

The shares trade at 40.3 times expected 2023 EPS, 29.6 times estimated 2024 earnings of $7.54 and 23.9 times estimated 2025 earnings of $9.36 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $128.67 to $339.92. Enphase does not pay a dividend. Total shareholder return for the past year was 42.83%.

Microsoft

Over the past 12 months, shares of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) have added less than 2% to their share price. Like Alphabet, however, 2023 has been a different story. Shares are up more than 19% so far this year. The company has said it will cut 10,000 jobs.

The release of ChatGPT in early March pushed shares up by about 16%, but that has leveled off since the beginning of April at about 13.8%. A more important driver of investor sentiment for Microsoft is likely to be its cloud business and the company’s outlook for its business customers’ buying plans as recession chatter continues unabated.

Sentiment for the stock is virtually all positive. Of 51 analysts covering the stock, 46 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and four more rate it at Hold. At a share price of around $285.80, the potential upside based on a median target of $306.00 is about 7.1%. At the high target of $420.00, the implied gain is almost 47%.

For its third quarter of fiscal 2023, revenue at the Dow component is forecast at $51.04 billion, 3.2% sequentially higher and up 3.4% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $2.23, down 3.7% sequentially and up a penny year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year ending in June, current consensus estimates call for EPS of $9.36, up 1.6%, on revenue of $208.95 billion, up 5.4%.

Microsoft stock trades at 30.5 times expected 2023 EPS, 26.7 times estimated 2024 earnings of $10.72 and 23.1 times estimated 2025 earnings of $12.38 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $213.43 to $294.18. Microsoft pays an annual dividend of $2.72 (yield of 0.95%). Total shareholder return over the past year was 2.76%.

PacWest Bancorp

PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ: PACW) lost more than 60% of its value between March 8 and March 13 following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Even though shares have come back a bit, the stock is still down nearly 51% for the year to date and more than 49% over the past 12 months. Bloomberg reported last week that the regional bank is seeking a buyer for its lender finance business. If successful, a sale would shrink the company’s balance sheet and provide a cash infusion. The bank’s rich dividend may be in danger.
Of the 10 analysts covering PacWest, five have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and the other five rate the shares at Hold. At a price of around $11.30 a share, the upside potential to a median price target of $15.00 is 24.7%. At the high price target of $32.00, the upside potential is 183%.

Analysts expect PacWest to post first-quarter revenue of $311.72 million, down 12.4% sequentially and by 6.5% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.57, down 33.8% sequentially and by 53.5% year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year, the bank is expected to report revenue of $1.15 billion, down 18.9%, and EPS of $1.88, down 52.8%.

PacWest stock trades at 6.0 times expected 2023 EPS and 5.1 times estimated 2024 earnings of $2.20 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $5.00 to $35.87. The bank pays an annual dividend of $1.00 (yield of 8.86%). Total shareholder return for the past year was negative 91.45%.

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Visa

The second Dow component reporting after markets close Tuesday is credit card issuer Visa Inc. (NYSE: V). Over the past 12 months, the stock price has risen by 8.1%, including a boost of 12.65% so far in 2023. Visa has been a favorite of Warren Buffett’s since he first acquired the stock in 2011. Since then, the shares have put up a price increase of more than 10 times. High interest rates and rising consumer credit card debt both work to Visa’s advantage. Free cash flow for the past 12 months totaled $17.74 billion, and Visa has repurchased $10.72 billion in stock over the same period.

Analysts are solidly bullish on the stock, with 30 of 35 brokerages rating it at Buy or Strong Buy. Another four have Hold ratings, and one has a Sell rating. At a share price of around $234.70, the implied gain based on a median price target of $265.00 is about 12.9%. At the high price target of $294.00, the upside potential is 25.3%.

For Visa’s second quarter of fiscal 2023, revenue is forecast at $7.79 billion, down 1.9% sequentially but up 8.3% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $1.99, down 8.9% sequentially and 11.2% higher year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year ending in September, consensus estimates call for EPS of $8.49, up 13.2%, on revenue of $32.36 billion, up 10.4%.

Visa stock trades at 27.7 times expected 2023 EPS, 24.2 times estimated 2024 earnings of $9.69 and 21.0 times estimated 2025 earnings of $11.16 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $174.60 to $235.57. Visa pays an annual dividend of $1.80 (yield of 0.77%). Total shareholder return for the past 12 months was 9.38%.

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