The earnings train steams along. After a week of largely positive quarterly results from leading technology companies, the focus in the coming days turns to leading blue-chip companies, many of which are household names. Over the next week, we will hear from several top tier prescription drug makers, travel companies, technology companies, and food and beverage leaders.
As has been the case in recent weeks, the financial prints could swing markets higher or lower depending on whether companies hit a homerun or strike out. Already, we’ve seen stocks of major companies, such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), plummet on an earnings miss. Others, such as Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB), have soared. Data from FactSet shows that with only 20% of S&P 500 companies having reported first quarter (Q1) results, 79% have announced better than expected earnings per share (EPS), while 69% have reported better revenue than Wall Street forecasted. Will this positive trend continue? We’ll find out as the calendar turns to May.
Here's How Pfizer Stock (and Pharma) Stand to Benefit From Mylan Deal
Source: Manuel Esteban / Shutterstock.com
Blue-chip pharmaceutical company Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) reports its Q1 results on May 3. Analysts will be watching to see how sales of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine and booster shot are holding up. When announcing its previous quarterly results, the drug maker said that it expects $54 billion in sales from its Covid-19 vaccine and oral treatment pill this year, which will help propel Pfizer to record revenues of more than $100 billion. Will that forecast hold up as growing numbers of people around the world become fully vaccinated against the respiratory disease?
Pfizer’s latest earnings come just days after the company submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use its Covid-19 booster shot in children ages five to 11, and after the company declared a second quarter dividend payment of 40 cents per share, payable on Jun. 10. For Q1 of this year, Wall Street analysts have forecast that Pfizer will report EPS of $1.48 on revenue of $23.95 billion. So far this year, PFE stock has declined 16.5% to trade at $49.30 per share.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
AMD (AMD) sign outside of office building with greenery
Source: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock.com
My how the mighty have fallen. Semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices’ (NASDAQ:AMD) stock has fallen 38.8% year-to-date (YTD) to trade at $87.95 a share. AMD stock is nearly 50% below its 52-week high of $164.46 per share reached last November. Since then, the company’s share price has been pulled lower by a broad downturn in technology securities in which semiconductor stocks are being particularly hit hard. Rising interest rates, global supply chain problems, and a flight by investors into safe haven assets have put a hurt on AMD and other tech stocks.
A strong quarterly print could help reverse the downturn in AMD stock. Analysts are looking for the company to report EPS of 91 cents on revenues of $5.52 billion for Q1. They will also be looking for any signs from the company of easing supply chain problems and a pick-up in demand for the company’s semiconductor chips, many of which are used in video game consoles. In a positive sign, several Wall Street firms, including Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) upgraded AMD stock ahead of next week’s earnings.
Stocks Reporting Earnings: Airbnb (ABNB)
Woman holds the key with the logo of a popular company Airbnb over the landscape of Genova, Italy. ABNB stock.
Source: AlesiaKan / Shutterstock
We’ll get an idea of how travel demand is holding up when Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) announces its latest results on May 3. The homestay and vacation rental company has become a bellwether for the tourism and travel industry. Its quarterly booking numbers are carefully parsed by analysts for signs of pent-up demand and spending intentions of consumers. In its previous earnings for Q4 2021, Airbnb reported full-year gross bookings valued at $46.9 billion, which was nearly double the 2019 pre-pandemic level. Overall, the company’s revenue amounted to $6 billion in 2021, up 74% from a year earlier.
Unfortunately, the upturn toward the end of last year hasn’t helped ABNB stock, which is down 4.7% YTD at $158.70 per share. The stock is now 14% lower than it was at this time last year. Some analysts are concerned that with inflation running at a 40-year high in the U.S. and interest rates on the rise, it will prompt many consumers to cut back on discretionary spending, including travel this summer. For this year’s Q1, analysts expect that Airbnb will report an EPS loss of 28 cents on revenues of $1.45 billion.
Starbucks (SBUX)
the Starbucks (SBUX) logo on a sign outside of a coffee shop
Source: Grand Warszawski / Shutterstock.com
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) faces a number of issues that have conspired to hurt its share price in recent weeks. Former chief executive officer Howard Schultz recently returned to helm the company on an interim basis and promptly announced that he was suspending the coffee chain’s $20 billion share repurchase program. That news didn’t sit well with shareholders. Schultz said he wants to free-up money to invest in the company and to help it fight back against a growing union movement that is sweeping across its stores in the U.S.
To date, nine Starbuck locations have voted to unionize, including a coffee shop in the company’s hometown of Seattle. Another 180 company-owned outlets have filed to hold union elections. While the overall number of stores looking to unionize is small within Starbucks national chain of nearly 9,000 outlets, the union battles are expected to be drawn out and costly. That has prompted many investors to hit the sell button on SBUX stock. So far in 2022, Starbucks’ share price has decreased 35.6% to trade at $75.52 per share.
Analysts forecast that Starbucks will report EPS of 59 cents on revenues of $7.6 billion for Q1.
Stocks Reporting Earnings: Moderna (MRNA)
red text reads "moderna" on a light blue background. there is a bottle of liquid vaccine next to a medical needle
Source: diy13 / Shutterstock
Another company whose earnings and share prices are dependent on Covid-19 vaccines is Boston-based pharmaceutical company Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA). Little known before the pandemic, Moderna came to prominence over the past two years with the speedy development and approval of its Covid-19 inoculation. From the time the pandemic hit in March 2020 through last September, MRNA stock rose 1,675% to just under $500 a share. But since Labor Day of last year, Moderna stock has corrected sharply, down 44.5% to now change hands at around $140 per share.
The comedown in MRNA stock is largely due to two factors — concerns about slowing sales of its Covid-19 vaccine and a development pipeline that is thin compared to larger, more established pharmaceutical companies. Moderna is continuing to evolve its Covid-19 vaccine, working on a shot that protects against the original strain of the virus, as well as the omicron variant. Additionally, the company is working on a long gestating flu vaccine. But those vaccines remain in development. Wall Street expects Moderna to report EPS of $5.21 on revenues of $4.62 billion when it announces its financial results next week.
Marriott International (MAR)
Marriott logo in Milan, Italy. MAR stock.
Source: DELBO ANDREA / Shutterstock
We’ll get further information on travel demand and tourism recovery when hotel operator Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) reports its Q1 numbers on May 4. The largest hotel chain in the world, Marriott operates 30 brands with 7,642 properties containing 1.4 million rooms in 131 countries around the world. The company’s hotel brands include everything from the Ritz-Carlton to Courtyard Motels. And unlike most stocks, Marriott International has been riding the return of travel higher this year. So far in 2022, MAR stock has gained 9.55% to trade at $181.01 per share.
The company has certainly been in an upswing as the pandemic recedes into our collective rearview mirror. During its last earnings release in February of this year, Marriott reported that its revenue was up 105% compared to a year earlier when many of its properties around the world were forced to close or operate at reduced capacity. Analysts will be watching Marriott’s results closely for any signs of waning travel demand due to inflation and rate increases. Wall Street forecasts the company will report EPS of 89 cents on revenue of $4.11 billion.
Stocks Reporting Earnings: Block (SQ)
Someone holds a phone with the Block (sq) logo in front of a stock chart
Source: Sergei Elagin / Shutterstock
Finally, we’ll hear from fintech and cryptocurrency companyBlock (NYSE:SQ) next week. The company formerly known as Square reports its Q1 financials on May 5. Analysts expect the company led by Jack Dorsey to announce EPS of 21 cents on revenues of $4.14 billion. Lately, the company’s fortunes have been closely tied to the price of cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin (BTC-USD). With BTC and other digital coins and tokens trading in volatile patterns throughout this year, it could negatively impact Block’s results.
SQ stock itself has had a rough go of it, down 20.3% YTD at $103.56 per share. Over the past six months, the stock has fallen 60.3%. In addition to the volatility in cryptocurrencies, the decline has been due to a lack of confidence in the company’s pivot toward digital assets and away from its core online payment system and app that made the company popular among small and medium-sized businesses, as well as consumers. A strong print next week could help to restore some of the lost confidence in the company.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole held long positions in BAC and SQ. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
