17 Key Earnings to Watch in the Week Ahead with Full Previews

November 3, 2013 by Jon C. Ogg

NYSE-flagEarnings season has been going strong, most DJIA components have reported earnings, and this coming first full week of November will mark the last week of major earnings reports from companies with quarters ending in September. Still, the earnings calendar remains full.

24/7 Wall St. has decided to publish previews for what will be the most important reports for their given sectors in the week ahead. Some could be market-movers, but all can be sector movers on any given day.

We have used estimates from Thomson Reuters for the earnings per share (EPS) and revenue estimates as well as for consensus analyst price targets. Some color has been added for each company based upon investor or trader issues to watch. Earnings estimates can change each day up to any of the reports, and companies can even change days that they report earnings.

24/7 Wall St. also just recently showed which DJIA stocks were doing the best and the worst based upon post-earnings reactions after looking at all of their earnings reports.

We still have many key oil and energy companies reporting in the week ahead but we have now seen the sector leaders report earnings. Earnings previews have been prepared for the following stocks:

  • CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME)
  • Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ)
  • Kellogg Company (NYSE: K)
  • DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV)
  • Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX)
  • Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)
  • T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS)
  • American Water Works Company Inc. (NYSE: AWK)
  • Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK)
  • QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM)
  • Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX)
  • Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM)
  • Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN)
  • Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP)
  • The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS)
  • Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN)
  • The Wendy’s Company (NYSE: WEN)

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) reports earnings on Monday morning. With all of the exchange mergers of the last decade this remains one of the dominant exchanges. Estimates are $0.73 EPS and $713.3 million in revenue. Keep in mind that this exchange is now worth $25 billion. At $74.70, the consensus analyst price target is only just barely higher at almost $75.50.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) is set to report after the close of trading on Monday. At $22.75, its stock has pulled back from a 52-week high of $27.75. Estimates for this last quarter are $0.71 EPS and $3.06 billion in revenue.

Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) reports on Monday morning and estimates are $0.89 EPS on sales of $3.71 billion. Shares are still considered to be lacking in any great things ahead, but the stock is now nearing 10% off its 52-week high and it is considered a key defensive stock that still pays a 3% dividend.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is reporting earnings on Tuesday morning. It remains to be seen whether or not DirecTV will be part of any coming sector consolidation or not, but that could be up for discussion in the conference call. Estimates are $1.02 EPS on $7.85 billion in revenue.

Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) are both reporting Tuesday and we are counting these as one. These two were recently given approval and clearance from regulators to merge, so we would expect that this could be the first formal telegraph of what to officially expect ahead. The office supplies sector is a challenging one and this just created a duopoly with Staples. We are not including estimates because analyst expectations before and after the onset of mergers are sometimes not very reliable.

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is set to report earnings after the close on Tuesday. Elon Musk may not move the auto sector exactly, but this electric vehicle is now worth almost $20 billion and its stock is north of $160 even if it is down 15% or so from its all-time high. Estimates are $0.11 EPS and $534.6 million in sales. Tesla still trades at almost 100-times expected 2014 earnings, but trying to use traditional math for valuation here has sent many short sellers to the poor house.

T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) reports on Tuesday and estimates are $0.06 EPS and $6.57 billion in revenue. With the newly announced telecom merger interest heating up again, perhaps T-Mobile will become of great interest again.

American Water Works Company Inc. (NYSE: AWK) remains the top water utility in America and one which we have been fans of for years. It reports Wednesday after the close and estimates are $0.85 EPS and $854.3 million in revenue. Due to an appreciating stock performance, the dividend yield is down to about 2.6%. At $42.76, the consensus analyst price target has risen to $47.73 now.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) reports on Wednesday morning and its $51 billion valuation makes it the king of electric utilities. Its 4.3% yield is not overly aggressive for a utility, but now things have normalized after its merger. Estimates are $1.51 EPS and $7.3 billion in revenue.

QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reports on Wednesday afternoon and shares are just under the decade high. The mobile processor giant is now worth almost $120 billion (roughly the same as rival Intel) and is deep into the smartphone and tablet devices that have taken the world over. Estimates are $1.08 EPS and $6.34 billion in revenue. Simply meeting estimates and guiding in line with estimates here would likely not be received too well. At $69.90, the consensus analyst price target is $74.61.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) reports on Wednesday and estimates are $0.89 EPS and $6.94 billion in revenue.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) is set to report earnings after the close on Wednesday. This grocery chain needs to be evaluated as a luxury retailer rather than a traditional grocery store. Estimates are $0.31 EPS and $3.04 billion in revenue. Whole Foods is valued at about 36-times next year’s expected earnings, but at $63.30 we would point out that the consensus analyst price target is down at $62.41 here.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is one we think is rather pathetic to be counted as a key earnings report, but maybe that says something about the state of the world these days. Its share volume is massive and still up around 20 million shares per day. It is set to report earnings after the close of trading on Thursday. Estimates are $0.01 EPS and $616.1 million in revenue. Shares closed strongly last week and at $9.93 its 52-week range is $2.60 to $12.76 and its consensus analyst price target is $11.88.

Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is a leader of the rare earth elements but it is not exactly a market mover. Still, the company has added many new shareholders after a huge secondary offering and it has managed to harm prior shareholders as a result. This is going to be a report where you get to see how bad earnings are and whether or not its guidance can save the day for 2014 or even 2015. Estimates are -$0.29 EPS and sales are expected be down over 21% to $161.1 million. At $5.02, the 52-week range is $4.70 to $11.81.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), a DJIA component, reports on Thursday after the close of trading. Disney shares just refuse to ever pull back very much of late and the performance has been strong enough that it needs a serious dividend boost at the end of this year. At $69.01, its all-time high is $69.87 and the consensus price target is $73.33. Estimates are $0.77 EPS versus $0.68 EPS a year ago, and revenue is expected to be up just over 6% to $11.45 billion.

Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) reports after the close of trading on Thursday. It and Google are the only $1,000 stocks that traders and investors have chased and Priceline is now worth a whopping $54 billion. Its stock is trading around $1,052 and the consensus analyst price target is up at $1,115 or so.

The Wendy’s Company (NYSE: WEN) is still considered to be in a fast food turnaround, but it is actually the most actively traded of the fast food stocks due to a low share price. Be advised that shares finally made their breakout and have now doubled off the 52-week low. With the stock at $8.73 and a $7.92 consensus price target, you have to expect that Wendy’s will have to do better than just meeting earnings expectations. Estimates are $0.06 EPS versus $0.03 EPS a year ago and revenue is expected to be up by just over 1% to $645.2 million.

Again, any of these earnings estimates and earnings reporting dates can change and some may have already changed by the time you read this.

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