After U.S. markets closed on Tuesday, Alphabet beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Shares traded up 5.9% in late-morning trading Wednesday.
Microsoft also beat both earnings per share (EPS) and revenue estimates. The company noted that the promise of AI will take time to become a reality. That was enough to slice 4.5% from the share price Wednesday morning.
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Visa made it a clean sweep, also beating EPS and revenue estimates. The stock traded down about 1.2%.

Before markets opened 0n Wednesday, AT&T beat the consensus EPS estimate but fell short on revenue. Even a forecast for $1 billion less in capital spending during the second half of the year was not enough to boost investors’ spirits. Shares traded down about 0.6%.

Boeing posted better than expected earnings and revenue. Revenue was up 18% year over year, and the loss per share was smaller than forecast. The company also said that the economic recovery is here to stay. Shares traded up 5.3%.

Coca-Cola also beat on both the top and bottom lines. Warren Buffett’s favorite soft drink company issued inline guidance as well. Shares traded up 0.2%.

Mattel, Meta Platforms and ServiceNow are scheduled to report quarterly earnings after U.S. markets close on Wednesday, while AbbVie, Comcast and Valero Energy are on deck to report results the following morning. Look for reports from Ford, Intel, T-Mobile and U.S. Steel later on Thursday.

Here is a look at three companies scheduled to report quarterly results first thing Friday morning.

Chevron

On Monday, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) reported second-quarter “highlights” that took most of the suspense from Friday morning’s full release of the quarter’s results. Total profit fell by 48% year over year, and diluted adjusted EPS dropped by 47%. Shares rose by about 2% Monday but have moved down slightly since then.

Production from the Permian Basin rose to 772,000 barrels a day, a new high. What else is coming? Lower crude oil prices will hit Chevron and Exxon Mobil hard, and both will focus on returning capital to investors to keep their share prices high. They keep doing it because it always works.

Analysts’ sentiment remains mostly bullish on the stock. Of the 26 brokerages covering Chevron, 13 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and 13 have Hold ratings. At a recent share price of around $161.00, the upside potential based on a median price target of $180.00 is 11.8%. At the high price target of $208.00, the upside potential is 29.2%.

Second-quarter revenue is forecast at $48 billion, which would be down 5.6% sequentially and by 30.2% year over year. Adjusted EPS were reported Monday to be $3.08, down 13.2% sequentially and 47.1% lower year over year. For the full 2023 year, analysts expect Chevron to post EPS of $13.22, down 29.8%, on revenue of $210.01 billion, down 14.7%.

Chevron stock trades at 12.2 times expected 2023 EPS, 12.0 times estimated 2024 earnings of $13.43 and 11.7 times estimated 2025 earnings of $13.80 per share. Its 52-week trading range is $140.46 to $189.68. Chevron pays an annual dividend of $6.04 (yield of 3.86%). Total shareholder return for the past 12 months was 13.49%.

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) have risen by nearly 17% over the past 12 months. Unlike Chevron, Exxon did not spill results early, and also unlike Chevron, the share price rose by nearly 2% after Chevron released its performance data.
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Two weeks ago, the company announced that it would acquire Denbury for $4.9 billion. Denbury’s established carbon dioxide sequestration operations give Exxon some bragging rights in the clean energy space. It will do little to help stop rising temperatures around the world, though. Exxon and Chevron also wring some benefits out of lower crude prices because it reduces both depreciation and depletion of reserves, helping keep down their cost of capital.

Of 26 analysts covering the stock, 14 rate the shares at Hold, four have a Strong Buy rating and seven rate the shares at Buy. At a price of around $105.00 a share, the upside potential based on a median price target of $119.00 is 13.3%. At the high target of $146.00, the upside potential is 39%.

Second-quarter revenue is forecast at $90.32 billion, up 4.3% sequentially but down 21.9% year over year. Adjusted EPS are pegged at $2.03, down 25.2% sequentially and by 51.0% year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year, estimates call for EPS of $9.06, down 35.5%, on sales of $358.06 billion, down 13.5%.

Exxon shares trade at 11.6 times expected 2023 EPS, 12.1 times estimated 2024 earnings of $8.69 and 12.3 times estimated 2025 earnings of $8.54 per share. The 52-week trading range is $83.89 to $119.92. Exxon pays an annual dividend of $3.64 (yield of 3.52%). Total shareholder return for the past 12 months was 21.20%.

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Procter & Gamble

Dow Jones industrial average component Procter & Gamble Inc. (NYSE: PG) has posted a share price increase of 7.5% over the past 12 months, the result of a jump of more than 9% in the past six months. It is the world’s largest maker of consumer products, and it has leaned heavily on those brands to boost prices and margins. That focus is expected to carry the day for both revenue and profits.

Of 24 analysts covering the stock, 15 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and eight more have Hold ratings. At a share price of around $154.00, the upside potential based on a median price target of $167.00 is 8.4%. At the high price target of $177.00, the implied gain is 14.9%.

Analysts expect the company to report fiscal 2023 fourth-quarter revenue of $19.99 billion, down 0.4% sequentially but up by 2.4% year over year. Adjusted EPS are pegged at $1.32, down 3.4% sequentially and 9.8% higher year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year that ended in June, current estimates call for EPS of $5.88, up 1.3%, on sales of $81.51 billion, up 1.7%.

The shares trade at 26.2 times expected 2023 EPS, 24.2 times estimated 2024 earnings of $6.38 and 22.3 times estimated 2025 earnings of $6.91 per share. The 52-week trading range is $122.18 to $158.11. The company pays an annual dividend of $3.76 (yield of 2.5%). Total shareholder return for the past year was 9.95%.

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