Industrial Stocks Earnings Queued for May 2: EMR, ETN & More

The Q1 earnings season is in full swing and we have crossed the halfway mark in the Q1 reporting cycle for the S&P 500 index (as on Apr 28). Earnings of these 288 S&P 500 members (accounting for 63.8% of the index’s total market capitalization) are up 13.7% on 8.2% higher revenues.

Of the companies that have reported results, 72.6% surpassed earnings estimates, with 62.1% coming ahead of revenue estimates. Clearly, growth has been steadily accelerating compared to the preceding quarter and is actually on pace to reach its highest level in nearly three years. Notably, the growth is quite broad based in terms of sectors, as Finance, Technology, Industrials, Basic Materials and Energy have all performed well. (For more details, read our latest Earnings Preview article: The Tech Sector's Strong Earnings Power).

In fact, our latest data projects that the earnings for the S&P 500 companies are now on track to grow an impressive 11.2% from the year-ago period, on 6.2% higher revenues. This is comparable to earnings growth of 7.4% recorded in fourth-quarter 2016 on 4.8% higher revenues.

The Industrial Products space is one of the sectors expected to chart positive earnings growth this quarter. In fact, its earnings are on track to be up 21% in the quarter (which is the highest amongst all Zacks sectors), on 8% higher sales compared with the last year.

Let’s have a look at how some industrial companies like Emerson Electric Company EMR, Eaton Corporation, PLC ETN, Terex Corporation TEX and Xylem Inc. XYL, ahead of their scheduled announcements tomorrow.

Emerson Electric is engaged principally in the worldwide design, manufacture and sale of a broad range of electrical, electromechanical and electronic products and systems. The company has a decent earnings surprise history, having beaten estimates thrice in the trailing four quarters, for an average positive surprise of 5.5%. In the last reported quarter, the company surpassed estimates by 14%.

We do not expect Emerson Electric to beat expectations this quarter. Though the company’s Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) increases the predictive power of ESP, its Earnings ESP of 0.00% makes surprise prediction difficult. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is pegged at 58 cents. (For more details, read: Emerson to Report Q2 Earnings: What Lies in Store?).

Emerson Electric Company Price and EPS Surprise

Emerson Electric Company Price and EPS Surprise | Emerson Electric Company Quote

For a possible earnings beat, the company should have the right combination of two key ingredients – a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy), 2 or 3 (Hold). Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing a negative estimate revisions momentum.