Top 8 Earnings for the Week Ahead

May 15, 2016 by Chris Lange

24/7 Wall St. has put together a preview of some of the major companies reporting their quarterly results this week. We are on the way out of earnings season, when most major companies report and set a direction for the market. Here we have included the consensus earnings estimates from Thomson Reuters and the stock price and trading history, as well as added some additional color on each.

Be advised that the earnings and revenue estimates may change ahead of the formal reports, and some companies may change reporting dates as well.

Home Depot

On Tuesday, Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) is expected to share its most recent quarterly results. The consensus estimates call for earnings per share (EPS) of $1.35 and $22.28 billion in revenue. This company remains the undisputed leader in the home improvement retail category.

Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,270 retail stores and has a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico.

The share price was $133.13 as trading ended on Friday, in a 52-week trading range of $92.17 to $137.82. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $145.17.

Cisco Systems

Look for fiscal third-quarter results from Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) on Wednesday. The consensus estimates call for $0.55 in EPS, as well as $11.97 billion in revenue. This is the one company dominating the networking and communications above its peers. Its growth has been hampered by the slowness in global growth markets of Brazil, China, Russia and others. But now it actually might start to win from the U.S. dollar’s strength taking a pause. Cisco remains a stock to own for the decade.

Shares were trading at $26.53 on Friday’s close. The consensus price target is $29.68. The stock has a 52-week range of $22.46 to $29.90.


Lowe’s

Home Depot’s rival, Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW), is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter results on Wednesday. The analysts’ consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.84 and $14.81 billion in revenue. In the most recent earnings report, Lowe’s management was very positive on its outlook for 2016.

CEO Robert Niblock believes that the company will continue to leverage the favorable macroeconomic backdrop for home improvement, providing customers with complete solutions for their home improvement projects.

Shares were changing hands at $75.01 on Friday’s close. The consensus price target is $83.61, and the 52-week range is $62.62 to $78.13.
Salesforce.com

Also on Wednesday, Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) will report its fiscal first-quarter results. The consensus analyst estimates are $0.23 in EPS and revenue of $1.89 billion. This enterprise cloud computing solutions provide has a focus on customer relationship management to various businesses and industries worldwide.

It offers enterprise cloud computing applications and platform services, including Sales Cloud, with enables companies to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through relationship intelligence and collaborate around sales on desktop and mobile devices.

Salesforce shares ended the week at $76.37 apiece. The consensus price target is $89.86. The 52-week range is $52.60 to $82.90.

Target

Set to share its latest quarterly earnings on Wednesday as well is Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT). The consensus estimates call for $1.20 in EPS and $16.32 billion in revenue. This company is one of the top general merchandise retailers in the United States, behind Walmart.

Shares closed at $73.88 on Friday, in a 52-week trading range of $66.46 to $85.81. The consensus price target is $83.40.

Gap

Then on Thursday, Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) will report its fiscal first-quarter results. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.33 and $3.51 billion in revenue. There is a weak outlook that just cannot be ignored at Gap. The company’s comparable store sales continue to suffer after a recent reading of −5% came out for the first-quarter. This follows a reading of −7% in its fourth quarter.

Gap should be able to win from significantly easier comparisons and benefit from sourcing and merchandising changes made back in 2015. Instead it sees material declines continuing. Overall reduced traffic is an issue across the mall space, but Gap has problems on top of all the macro issues.

Shares of Gap were changing hands at $17.62 as last week came to a close. The consensus price target is $21.13, and the 52-week range is $17.36 to $39.59.


Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is set to share its latest quarterly earnings on Thursday too. The consensus estimates are $0.89 in EPS on $113.17 billion in revenue. The giant retailer had behaved well since hitting a three-year low back in November.

Walmart is the largest retailer of them all. On top of its supercenters, its warehouse clubs and partnerships help it dominate – even if Amazon is all the rage these days. Walmart keeps trying to grow its online and ecommerce efforts.

Shares were at $64.94 on Friday’s close, in a 52-week trading range of $56.30 to $79.94. The consensus price target is $64.72.

Deere

And finally, Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) is scheduled to reveal its fiscal second-quarter results on Friday. The consensus estimates call for $1.48 in EPS, as well as $6.70 billion in revenue. This is a company that could use a break.

The global equipment manufacturing company has suffered the same fate as other U.S. companies when it comes to a strong dollar and weak demand from the former growth markets. After earnings have consistently declined for several quarters, the firm thinks that margins are near all-time low levels and may be able to rebound over the next two to three years.

Shares closed trading at $82.47 on Friday. The consensus price target is $75.42. The 52-week trading range is $70.16 to $98.23.

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