Technology

6 Top Tech Earnings Previews This Week: IBM, Google, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook

In the past week, several technology companies reported earnings after having issued warnings for their earnings reports. While this might make some investors worried about the quality of earnings, the initial wave of tech companies reporting was not as bad as previously thought. In short, some reactions could be that things do not look as bad as was first thought. As a result, this earnings season is likely to be all about guidance, as far as the big tech shops are concerned.

24/7 Wall St. has put together a preview of some of the larger companies in the tech sector reporting their quarterly results in the middle of April. We have reviewed the consensus earnings estimates from Thomson Reuters and the stock price and trading history, as well as added some additional color on each.

IBM

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) will release its most recent quarterly results Monday. The consensus estimates are $2.82 in earnings per share (EPS) on $19.73 billion in revenue. Credit Suisse reiterated an Underperform rating for IBM with a $125 price target, as it does not see IBM making its recovery for some time. IBM investors should note that the firm has the lowest IBM price target and biggest downside expected of all firms on Wall Street. Credit Suisse continues to believe that Big Blue faces a painful multiyear process that leads to a prolonged period of underperformance.

Big Blue’s shares were at $160.67 at the close of trading Friday. The consensus price target is $158.17, and the stock has a 52-week trading range of $149.52 to $196.86.

ALSO READ: Cowen’s 4 Top Internet Stocks to Buy Now

Facebook

Look for Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) to report its first-quarter results on Wednesday. The consensus estimates call for $0.40 in EPS and $3.56 billion in revenue. Facebook remains the face of social media, with no challenger anywhere in sight. The stock has been on fire for the past year, and the social media behemoth does not appear to be slowing down. The revenue change over the past year was an astounding 54.69%, and the stock comes in as a top Internet stock pick at Cowen.

With Instagram, Premium video and Graph Search capabilities, some analysts feel that the company can drive revenue growth even without a huge increase in advertising placement. Cowen thinks the investor sentiment is very positive and that mobile advertising growth via different silos can be added this year, in 2016 and beyond.

Shares of Facebook closed trading at $80.78 on Friday. The consensus price target is $92.77, and the stock has a 52-week trading range of $54.66 to $86.07.

Qualcomm

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is scheduled to report its fiscal second-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $1.33 and $6.83 billion in revenue. Qualcomm got absolutely blasted in January when it reported solid earnings numbers that beat estimates but lowered its full-year earnings and revenue forecasts as it lowered the sales outlook for its semiconductor business. Not what analysts were expecting.

The stock is a Wall Street favorite, and many are sticking to their guns, basically saying that trading at current levels, the stock is at 13.81 times estimated 2015 earnings, it is a tremendous long-term value. Qualcomm is a quality tech company with recurring royalty revenue and a strong footprint, so patient investors may fare very well. The company may be able to avoid its current activist pressure if the stock trading was an indication.

Qualcomm shares ended Friday’s trading at $67.11. The consensus price target is $76.50. The 52-week trading range is $62.26 to $81.97.

ALSO READ: 4 Tech Stocks Goldman Sachs Wants You to Sell

Amazon

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is set to post its first-quarter results Thursday. Consensus estimates call for EPS of -$0.12 but revenue of $22.43 billion. Amazon is expected to showcase a return to basics in 2015. The company’s operating margin expansion should continue to benefit from the shipping loss moderation, as well as a normalization of the international growth rate.

Amazon shares ended the week at $375.56, in a 52-week trading range of $284.00 to $389.37. The consensus price target is $397.17.

Google

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is scheduled to report its first-quarter results on Thursday. The consensus estimates call for $6.60 in EPS and $17.52 billion in revenue. Google has dramatically underperformed over the past year, and the Cowen analysts point out that investor sentiment is quite negative due to concerns about margins, mobile risk to the core search business, the company’s capital allocation stance and currency headwinds. Google remains the undisputed leader in Internet search, and with a diverse portfolio that includes everything from the Android platform and YouTube to the Google Wallet for automatic pay and the Google Flights tool, continued growth is not out of the question.

Google shares closed trading at $532.74 on Friday. The consensus price target is $624.17. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $490.91 to $608.91.

ALSO READ: 5 Outstanding UBS Quality Growth at Reasonable Price Stock Picks

Microsoft

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) will release its most recent quarterly results Thursday. The consensus estimates have EPS at $0.51 on $21.12 billion in revenue. The stock is down around 8% year to date and barely even with its position from a year ago. The software giant disappointed on earnings and was sold off pretty hard in the middle of January, and since that time the company has struggled to reclaim its former price level. Luckily, Wells Fargo saw upside in this company when it decided to upgrade Microsoft.

Shares of Microsoft were trading at $41.62 on Friday’s close. The consensus price target is $46.73, and the stock has a 52-week trading range of $38.51 to $50.05.

 

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