Earnings Preview: Oracle

By Paul Ausick Updated Sep 11, 1:58PM EDT · Published Sep 8, 10:08AM EDT

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Earnings Preview: Oracle — © maywong_photos / Flickr

After U.S. markets closed on Wednesday, DocuSign beat the consensus earnings per share (EPS) estimate by 9.1% and the revenue estimated by about 1.5%. Revenue was up 10.5% year over year in the quarter. DocuSign also raised third-quarter and fiscal-year revenue guidance. Shares traded down about 4.6% shortly after Friday’s opening bell.

Smith & Wesson also beat Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Sales rose 35.3% year over year while gross margin slipped by nearly 10 percentage points. CFO Deana McPherson said the company is confident it can reach its gross margin target of at least 32% for the full year. The company pays a dividend yield of 4.09%, another reason investors took the stock nearly 19% higher early Friday.

Before markets opened on Friday, Kroger beat the consensus EPS estimate by 5.5% but missed the revenue estimate slightly. Revenue was down 2.3% year over year. More important, perhaps, the company announced the sale of 413 stores, eight distribution centers, two offices and five private label brands in 17 states and the District of Columbia to privately held C&S Wholesale Grocers for approximately $1.9 billion in cash.

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Kroger also announced an agreement in principle to settle lawsuits related to claims against the company related to opioid sales. The deal resulted in a charge of $1.4 billion, resulting in a decline of $1.54 in second-quarter EPS. The stock traded up about 0.9%

FuelCell Energy is on deck to report quarterly earnings first thing Monday morning. Then later that day, Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL | ORCL Price Prediction) will take its turn in the earnings spotlight. Here is what analysts expect from that report.

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The software and cloud-computing giant has added almost 68% to its share price over the past 12 months, including a 53% jump in 2023. Since posting a 52-week high in mid-June, the stock has slipped by about 1.5%. An analyst upgrade announced Tuesday added about 2% to the share price, so there is some optimism that the venerable company will be able to grow its software and cloud infrastructure businesses with a boost from AI.

Of 34 analysts covering the stock, 17 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and 16 have Hold ratings. At a recent price of around $125.00 a share, the upside potential based on a median price target of $133.00 is 6.4%. At the high price target of $150.00, the upside potential is 20%.

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For the first quarter of fiscal 2024, revenue is forecast at $12.47 billion, which would be down 9.9% sequentially but up 9.1% year over year. Adjusted EPS are pegged at $1.15, down 31.2% sequentially and 11.7% higher year over year. For the full fiscal year ending next May, current estimates call for EPS of $5.57, up 8.7%, on sales of $54.13 billion, up 8.4%.

Oracle stock trades at 22.5 times expected 2024 EPS, 19.8 times estimated 2025 earnings of $6.31 and 17.4 times estimated 2026 earnings of $7.59 per share. Its 52-week trading range is $60.78 to $127.54. The company pays an annual dividend of $1.60 (yield of 1.32%). Total shareholder return for the past year is 70.64%.

About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.