Top 6 Earnings Reports to Watch This Week

US markets are closed today for the Presidents Day holiday. However, investors will soon be treated to the quarterly earnings reports from the likes of AI leader Nvidia and retail powerhouse Walmart, which will be the focus as the December reporting season comes to a conclusion.

Tuesday 20th February: How did Walmart Fair Through the Holiday Season?

Walmart Inc. is anticipated to report increased sales for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2024 year, but experts predict lower profits and lower earnings per share from the holiday period.

In its fiscal Q4 report, the company is anticipated by Wall Street to show revenue of around $170.2 billion, a 6% YoY increase. Operational income is expected to grow 12% YoY for a rise of $6.761 billion, and the EPS is forecast to be $1.65, an 8% YoY rise.

Walmart’s stock has been trading at record highs this month, at over $170 per share. The company announced in January that it will divide its shares three to one in order to lower the price and make them more affordable for staff members.

Walmart reported a number of solid quarters in 2023, helped by increased sales of basic goods like food and fuel. Although recent credit card statistics looked encouraging for the store, Walmart’s recent gains will likely be slowed by reduced food costs and a downturn in general merchandise sales. Investors will be keenly observing Walmart’s comments about the current status of consumer spending.

Walmart’s shares are up more than 6.90% since the beginning of the year.

Tuesday 20th February: Will Home Depot Confound Expectations of a Disappointing Quarter?

When Home Depot Inc. releases its most recent earnings report before the markets open on Tuesday, it is expected to reveal a decrease in both profit and revenue, weighed down by reduced sales volumes as consumers prioritize their spending.

Last quarter, the company reported profits that were higher than expected, even though the company’s sales were down for the period. The company revised its full-year sales projections down by 3% to 4% due to weaker customer demand.

Zacks Investment Research reports that the consensus EPS expectation for the quarter is $2.76, based on predictions from 15 analysts. The EPS for the same quarter in the previous year was $3.3.

Home Depot’s shares are up more than 5% since the beginning of the year.

Tuesday 20th February: Palo Alto Networks Looks Set For Strong Results

Based on projections from 14 analysts, Zacks Investment Research reports that the average EPS estimate for Palo Alto for the quarter will be around $0.58, up from $0.34 in the same quarter last year. The company anticipates sales for the second quarter of its fiscal year in the range of $1.955–1.985 billion, indicating an 18–20% rise in revenue from the previous year.

Strong momentum from transaction wins is likely what will have helped Palo Alto’s second-quarter results and boosted its top line. The robust demand for form factor hardware products—especially models driven by machine learning that provide enterprises zero-trust network security—is anticipated to have had a role in the quarter’s success.

Palo Alto Networks’ shares are up more than 26.80% since the beginning of the year.

Wednesday 21st February: All Eyes on Nvidia

As the leading manufacturer of chips for artificial intelligence worldwide waits to report its earnings this Wednesday, investors are watching for a huge bump in the share price if the results are as promising as expected.

Since January 1, Nvidia’s stock has increased by more than 46% due to excitement about AI’s potential for business. The $570 billion gain in market capitalization more than triples Intel’s market worth. Shares of Nvidia, whose processors are regarded as the gold standard in the AI business, increased by over 240% in 2023. The company last week also surpassed Alphabet, the parent firm of Google, to take the third spot as the most valuable US company.

The consensus expectation from 33 analysts is that Nvidia will report profits of $4.56 per share and an increase in quarterly sales to $20.378 billion from $6.05 billion a year earlier.

Nvidia’s shares are up more than 50.70% since the beginning of the year.

Thursday 22nd February: Can Intuit Corp continue its steady growth on the back of AI?

The provider of tax and accounting software is expected to report its earnings on Thursday after the market closes.

Last quarter revenues were $2.98 billion, up 15% over the previous year, whereby the top line supposedly benefited from significant increase in the Small Business and Self-employed division. The CEO at the time attributed its accelerated innovation across the global platform to a strategy involving greater use of AI and data.

Intuit is expected to announce profits of $2.29 per share, representing a 4.09% increase over the prior year, and sales of $3.39 billion, representing an 11.36% increase over the same period last year.

Intuit Corp’s shares are up more than 8.60% since the beginning of the year.

Thursday 22nd February: Can Nestle still compete after price hikes?

The Swiss global food and beverage manufacturing company is scheduled to disclose financial results on Thursday before the bell.

Late last year, the company reported lower-than-expected nine-month sales growth as increased product costs put buyers off, causing shares to fall, but the company expects volumes to turn positive again by the end of this year. At which point, the company confirmed their full-year 2023 projection of organic sales growth of 7% to 8% and an underlying trading operating profit margin of 17.0% to 17.5%. They also suggested that Earnings per share in constant currency were predicted to climb by 6%-10%.

Earnings per share are expected to come in at 5.76, representing growth of 11.8% year over year, and a revenue estimate of $27.90 billion, up from $25.25 billion last quarter.

Nestle’s shares are down more than 2.15% since the beginning of the year.

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