Investors will focus on December quarter earnings for stocks that are economically sensitive, which should show better profits than technology stocks. Increasing Treasury yields and risk aversion could hit the stock market hard over the coming months. In addition, investors will closely monitor the latest news on the rapidly spread Omicron coronavirus variant to see how it impacts earnings in 2022.
SHOPIFY: Canadian multinational e-commerce company is expected to report its fourth-quarter earnings of $0.62 per share, which represents a year-over-year decline of over 46% from $1.15 per share seen in the same period a year ago. But the e-commerce software company would post revenue growth of over 37% to $1.34 billion.
According to Barron’s report, Gary Robinson, investment manager at Baillie Gifford said that Shopify is miles ahead of its competitors in helping merchants all over the world sell their items. He added that the company’s revenue could rise sharply in the next five years.
BAIDU: The Chinese tech giant is expected to report its fourth-quarter earnings of $1.89 per share, which represents a year-over-year decline of nearly 40% from $3.08 per share seen in the same period a year ago.
However, Baidu Inc, a leader in the Chinese search industry in terms of user market share, would post revenue growth of about 9% to $5.04 billion. The company has beaten consensus earnings estimates in most of the quarters in the last two years, at least.
“We maintain a “Buy” rating for Baidu (BIDU) with a target price of RMB 165. Our target price is based on the forward P/E of 18.48x and forward P/S of 0.42x for FY22. Non-GAAP EPS of RMB 56.59 ($8.98) for FY22. This provides an upside potential of 15% over the CMP of RMB 143.80,” noted Shejal Ajmera is founder and head of research at CrispIdea.
“We decrease our estimate for revenue growth to 14.3% from 19% for FY21 due to China’s low GDP growth. We estimate revenue growth of 10% for FY22 and 12% for FY23. We estimate EPS of RMB 56.19 ($8.87) and RMB 56.59 ($8.93) for FY21 and FY22, respectively.”
Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer Walmart is expected to report its fourth-quarter earnings of $1.49 per share, which represents year-over-year growth of over 7% from $1.39 per share seen in the same period a year ago.
The multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets would post revenue growth of nearly 1% to $150.91 billion. The company has beaten consensus earnings estimates in most of the quarters in the last two years, at least.
“Latest AlphaWise data shows Walmart+ membership continues to increase, with ~15m members total (~12% household penetration) & ~1m net members added in the past quarter. Overlap between Walmart+ & Prime remains high; we’ll monitor if this changes with a Prime fee hike coming,” noted Simeon Gutman, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley.
“We expect Walmart (WMT) to sustain recent momentum in its core business in F’22/F’23 and see a growing ability to balance longer-term investments with near-term returns. Our OW rating and $170 PT are underpinned by a preference for 1) quality players with scale and 2) defensive retailers as the market undergoes a mid-cycle transition.”
DEERE: The world’s largest maker of farm equipment, is expected to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings of $2.28 per share, which represents a year-over-year decline of over 41% from $3.87 per share seen in the same period a year ago. The agricultural, construction and forestry equipment manufacturer would post revenue growth of about 0.5% to $8.09 billion.
“Higher input and freight costs to affect FY22 margins. We downgrade our rating to “Hold” from “Buy” for Deere & Co. and upgrade our TP to $406 for FY23. We derive TP based on non-GAAP EPS to $22.30 & $25.14 for FY22 & FY23, respectively and P/E of ~16.1x for FY23. This provides an upside potential of 8.6% from CMP of $373.79,” noted Shejal Ajmera, Head of Research at Crispidea.
“Following are the reasons for the above assumptions: 1) Strong demand in farm and construction equipment to aid topline; 2) Focus on automation to ensure long term growth and 3) Short term headwinds to affect profitability.”
DRAFTKINGS: The U.S.-focused gambling operator is expected to report its fourth-quarter loss of $0.78 per share, a dime greater than the loss of $0.68 it recorded in the same period a year ago. But the revenue would grow more than 36% to $439.5 million.
“We forecast legal US sports betting & iGaming to increase from <$1.5B in 2019 to $20.6B in 2025 as more states legalize and spend per capita rises. Forecast DKNG to maintain top tier share, 24% in OSB and 21% in iGaming in 2025. Investors question LT profits, but other developed markets have shown 25-30%+ profits for operators at maturity, esp. those with a customer acq. advantage similar to DKNG’s with its DFS database,” noted Thomas Allen, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley.
“Current valuation of 9x 2025e EBITDA does not reflect long-term margins or growth. Upside drivers include signs of profits in mature states, new product innovation and higher market share. Downside risks include higher losses, greater competition and lagging product innovation.”
