U.S. Stocks To Watch Today

Alphabet

Google’s parent company Alphabet reported its first-quarter results yesterday after the market close. Alphabet missed analyst estimates on earnings but beat them materially on revenue, which was almost $1 billion higher than expected.

The stock reacted positively to the report, and Alphabet shares gained about 8% in the after-hours trading session. The company continues to enjoy solid YouTube and Cloud revenue growth.

Obviously, the coronavirus pandemic provides a boost for both segments since consumers stay at home and watch more YouTube videos while companies search for ways to organize a remote workplace.

On the advertising side, Alphabet expects that the second quarter will be challenging but revenue should stabilize once the global economy normalizes.

Alphabet shares have significantly rebounded from mid-March lows, and look set to continue this rebound after the release of the first quarter results, which will be good for the general market.

Boeing

Boeing is set to release its earnings report today before the market open, and, perhaps, it’s the biggest intrigue of the day. Boeing was hit very hard first by the MAX crisis and then by the coronavirus crisis. Analysts expect that Boeing will report earnings of -$1.39 per share, and believe that the company will be able to return to profitability only in the fourth quarter of this year.

Boeing CEO David Calhoun has already stated that air traffic will be recovering slowly, and that it will take time for the dividend to come back. The market will be eagerly waiting for more details during the first-quarter earnings call.

According to a Reuters report, the company plans to raise billions in new debt to improve its balance sheet and prepare for a prolonged crisis. The stock was mostly flat in yesterday’s after-hours trading session, but it will surely be very volatile today after the earnings report is released.

General Electric

The coronavirus crisis came right at the time when General Electric shareholders were starting to see the results of turnaround efforts. The company will report its first-quarter results today, before the market open. Analysts believe that General Electric will report a profit of $0.08 per share and stay profitable for the whole 2020.

The main focus area is the impact of various virus containment measures on the company’s future revenue as the company may get hit by capex cuts throughout various industries that it serves.

At this point, General Electric shares are looking cheap if we assume that analysts are right in their future earnings predictions. In case the first-quarter report confirms this view, General Electric may be set for a material upside move.