Before U.S. markets opened on Wednesday, Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) reported quarterly results earlier than originally planned. The stock dropped sharply after Tuesday evening’s announcement of the change, and then the stock price soared early Wednesday morning after Carvana’s report. Shares traded up 34% a few minutes after Wednesday’s opening bell. A short squeeze probably contributed to the morning’s increase. Nearly 60% of Carvana’s float was sold short.
Among the companies reporting as planned Wednesday morning, Goldman Sachs missed the consensus estimates on both earnings per share (EPS) and revenue. In a sign of how weak analysts expected the bank’s report to be, shares traded up by about 0.4% shortly after Wednesday’s opening bell.
ASML also reported misses on EPS and revenue. The Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment maker raised third-quarter and full-year revenue guidance, however, limiting the share price decline to around 3.5% in early trading Wednesday.
Baker Hughes beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines and issued inline guidance for third-quarter revenue. The oilfield services company also raised revenue guidance for the 2023 fiscal year. Shares traded up about 0.1%.
Halliburton reported mixed results, beating the EPS estimate but missing on revenue. As was the result at rival Baker Hughes, the stock traded down 1.7%.
U.S. Bancorp reported better than expected top-line and bottom-line results but issued downside revenue guidance for the third quarter. The bank also guided fiscal year revenue in line with estimates. The stock traded down 0.8%.
After U.S. markets close on Wednesday, IBM, Kinder Morgan, Netflix and Tesla will report quarterly results. Early the next morning, American Airlines, Freeport-McMoRan, Newmont, and Taiwan Semiconductor take their turns in the earnings spotlight.
Late Thursday and early Friday, these four companies are scheduled to report quarterly earnings.
American Express
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) has posted a 12-month share-price decrease of nearly 5%. After missing consensus first-quarter estimates in April, fiscal 2023 estimates were lowered again. They had been reduced in January. The Dow Jones industrial average component reports second-quarter results early on Friday.
There have been reports that Goldman Sachs wants to end its Apple credit card partnership, and Amex has been touted as a replacement. That would not be bad news for the company, but it probably will not be enough to drive much investor enthusiasm. Still, lowered expectations and higher interest rates could spell a solid beat for the company’s second quarter.
Analysts remain lukewarm on American Express stock. Of 26 brokerages covering it, 13 have a Hold rating and another 10 have Buy or Strong Buy ratings. At a recent price of around $178.00 a share, the implied gain based on a median price target of $185.00 is about 3.9%. At the high price target of $206.00, the upside potential rises to 15.7%.
Second-quarter revenue is forecast to increase sequentially by about 7.6% to $15.36 billion. That would be a jump of about 14.7% year over year. Adjusted EPS are pegged at $2.82, up 17.3% sequentially and by about 10% year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year, analysts are looking for EPS of $11.04, up 12%, on revenue of $61.23 billion, up 15.8%.
The stock trades at 16.1 times expected 2023 EPS, 14.4 times estimated 2024 earnings of $12.34 and 12.9 times estimated 2025 earnings of $13.82 per share. Its 52-week trading range is $130.65 to $182.15, and American Express pays an annual dividend of $2.40 (yield of 1.38%). Total shareholder return for the past 12 months was 26.9%.
CSX
Shares of railroad operator CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) have risen by about 17% over the past 12 months, including a gain of nearly 9% so far in 2023. Since posting a recent low shortly after reporting first-quarter results, CSX stock has gained about 6.5%. The company has completed 10 union sick-leave agreements with its workers, up from four at the end of the March quarter. Nearly all the railroad’s employees are now entitled to paid sick-leave benefits. CSX reports earnings after Thursday’s closing bell.
Analysts are mostly bullish on the stock, with 20 of 29 having a Buy or Strong Buy rating and nine more rating it at Hold. At a trading price of around $34.00, the upside potential to a median price target of $37.00 is about 8.8%. At a high price target of $40.00, the upside potential rises to 17.6%.
For the second quarter, analysts have forecast revenue at $3.73 billion, up 0.7% sequentially but down 2.1% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.49, up 2.8% sequentially and 3.9% lower year over year. For the full fiscal year, analysts are looking for EPS of $1.93, up 2%, on revenue of $14.8 billion, down 0.4%.
CSX stock trades at 17.5 times expected 2023 EPS, 16.2 times estimated 2024 EPS of $2.08 and 14 times estimated 2025 earnings of $2.41 per share. Its 52-week range is $25.80 to $34.71. The company pays an annual dividend of $0.44 (yield of 1.3%). Total shareholder return over the past year was 18.64%.
Intuitive Surgical
Shares of Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) have risen by 72% over the past 12 months, with nearly half the gain coming since the beginning of the year. Look for its quarterly report late on Thursday.
The company makes medical equipment that performs complex surgical procedures with minimal physical invasiveness. Its da Vinci surgical system has performed more than 10 million surgical procedures since its introduction in 1999. The company’s fortunes slid during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a resurgence in demand for elective surgery has boosted the company’s top and bottom lines.
Analysts remain upbeat, if not exactly bullish, on the stock, with 17 of 28 brokerages having a Buy or Strong Buy rating and another 10 rating it at Hold. At a share price of around $355.00, the stock has outrun its median price target of $321.50. At the high price target of $400.00, the upside potential is 11.3%.
Analysts expect Intuitive Surgical to report 2023 second-quarter revenue of $1.74 billion, up 2.6% sequentially and by 15.8% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $1.33, up 8.0% sequentially and 16.7% higher year over year. Estimates for the 2023 fiscal year call for EPS of $5.50, up 17.5%, on sales of $7.15 billion, 14.9%.
The stock trades at 64.6 times expected 2023 EPS, 54.9 times estimated 2024 earnings of $6.46 and 47.0 times estimated 2025 earnings of $7.55 per share. The 52-week trading range is $182.07 to $355.54. The high was posted on Monday. Intuitive Surgical does not pay a dividend, but total shareholder return for the past year was 72.08%.
Schlumberger
The largest U.S.-based oilfield services company, Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), has seen its stock price rise by 72% over the past 12 months, hammering rivals Halliburton (which is up 32%) and Baker Hughes (up 29%) over the period. The company reports quarterly results first thing Friday morning.
Until last Friday, the company had been one of a relative handful of Western countries that had continued to supply services and equipment to Russia following that country’s invasion of Ukraine. In a statement, the company said, “SLB takes its responsibility to comply with export control and economic sanction laws extremely seriously, and the company remains aligned with the international community in condemning and calling for an end to the war in Ukraine.”
Analysts remain solidly bullish on the company. Of 31 brokerages covering the stock, 30 have Buy or Strong Buy ratings. The other one rates the stock at Hold. At a share price of around $57.00, the implied upside based on a median price target of $65.00 is 14%. At the high target of $75.00, the upside potential is 31.6%.
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