Editor’s Note: This article is regularly updated to bring you relevant, up-to-date information.
After a couple of slow weeks, we now have a veritable parade of leading blue-chip company earnings to look forward to. During the week of Sept. 20, we’ll hear from leading technology, shipping, food and clothing companies, all of which could move markets with their latest earnings reports.
Taken together, the earnings reports in coming days should provide a clear snapshot of how the U.S. economy is performing and how consumer spending is holding up heading into the fourth and final quarter of the year — which includes the profitable holiday season.
Strong showings among leading companies might also help to revive the fortunes of the broader stock indexes, which have been in retreat during September. The S&P 500 index has fallen nearly 2% since Sept. 1.
Here are seven companies reporting earnings the week of Sept. 20.
- Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE)
- FedEx (NYSE:FDX)
- AutoZone (NYSE:AZO)
- General Mills (NYSE:GIS)
- Nike (NYSE:NKE)
- Costco (NASDAQ:COST)
- Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD)
Upcoming Earnings Reports: Adobe (ADBE)
Adobe, the software giant behind popular products such as Acrobat Reader and Photoshop, reports its latest earnings on Sept. 21. Shareholders hope that a strong showing will boost the momentum in the company’s share price.
Over the past six months, ADBE stock has risen 45% to $655.51, and the shares are up 3% in the last month. The stock has been propelled by a number of strategic moves made since the spring. Most recently, Adobe announced in August that it will acquire video collaboration software company Frame.io for $1.28 billion. The deal should help to advance Adobe’s existing video editing offerings.
Adobe has also been benefiting from businesses migration to cloud computing, which its suite of software products are compatible with.
In its previous quarterly results, Adobe announced that its sales grew 23% year-over-year to $3.84 billion, while the company’s free cash flow increased 73% to $1.89 billion. For the quarterly results Adobe announces next week, Wall Street is looking for the Mountain View, California-based company to report revenue of $3.89 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $3.01.
FedEx (FDX)
Also on Sept. 21, we’ll hear from shipping and logistics company Federal Express (FedEx).
It will be interesting to see how the company has been performing as the U.S. and global economies recover from the pandemic. FDX stock has had a bumpy ride this year due to elevated concerns that the company’s growth will slow as online shopping (and related parcel shipments) moderate and people again visit brick-and-mortar retailers.
Year-to-date, FedEx stock is down 2% at $254.43 per share. However, the stock is now down 20% from its 52-week high of $320 a share reached in mid-May. Since August, the share price has decreased 8%.
Shareholders hope that strong quarterly results will help FDX stock claw its way out of the bearish funk it has been in throughout the summer.
Despite the air being let out of its stock, FedEx appears to still be running at full speed. The Memphis, Tennessee-based company just announced plans to hire 90,000 employees ahead of the upcoming holiday season, including for its warehouses and package-sorting centers. The company is also hiring 500 highly specialized workers to fill positions such as data scientists and software engineers.
For next week’s earnings report, analysts are expecting the shipping company to report revenue of $21.91 billion and EPS of $5. Anything better than that might help to kickstart the share price and get it moving upwards again.
Upcoming Earnings Reports: AutoZone (AZO)
We’ll get a glimpse into the automotive market when AutoZone reports results on Sept. 21. The company, also based in Memphis, is the largest retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories in the U.S. And with parts in short supply across the U.S. and around the world, it should be interesting to see both how the supply constraints are impacting AutoZone’s business and its profits.
So far, the squeeze being placed on automakers from a lack of semiconductors, microchips and other key components hasn’t hurt AZO stock. So far this year, the company’s share price is up 35% at slightly over $1,600.00.
While AZO stock has enjoyed a strong run so far this year, analysts see more growth ahead for the company. Wells Fargo recently maintained a “buy” rating on AutoZone shares with a price target of $1,750, suggesting a further gain of nearly 10% from current levels. The median price target on the stock is $1,655.
For its upcoming earnings, analysts are looking for AutoZone to announce revenue of $4.56 billion and earnings per share amounting to $29.87.
General Mills (GIS)
We’ll hear from consumer food giant General Mills on Sept. 22. The consumer foods company known for products such as Cheerios cereal, Hagen Dazs ice cream and Yoplait yogurt could use some good news.
GIS stock has been anemic this year, roughly flat at $58.68. The share price has been stuck between $57 and $65 throughout this year. A solid earnings report could be the catalyst needed to get the stock moving and break above its moving average.
Next week’s earnings report could be a good one based on General Mills recent communications. On Sept. 8, the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company upwardly revised its fiscal year 2022 outlook and said it now expects net sales and adjusted earnings to be at the high end of its previous estimates.
General Mills said that the revised outlook comes after it spent the past two months raising prices across all its grocery categories, which also includes Betty Crocker baking products, all over the world.
Wall Street is expecting General Mills to report quarterly revenue of $4.29 billion and EPS of 89 cents.
Upcoming Earnings Reports: Nike (NKE)
Sneaker and sports apparel company Nike will be looking to replicate the success of its last earnings report when it announces quarterly results on Sept. 23. The last time the Beaverton, Oregon company announced earnings in June, its share price jumped 18% the next day.
While NKE stock has pulled back some since mid-August and now trades at $156.58, it is still up 11% on the year. Another blowout quarter could ignite the shares and send them higher. Overcoming the lofty expectations that the company has set for itself and analysts is its biggest hurdle.
Since beating analyst expectations across the board in June, Nike has been grappling with supply chain woes, particularly in Asia. Several factories in Vietnam that manufacture Nike branded apparel were forced to shutdown over the summer due to outbreaks of Covid-19. The factories that were forced to halt production make more than half of Nike’s sneakers and other footwear. This in the lead-up to the busy back-to-school shopping season. The supply constraints have led to the selloff in NKE stock in recent weeks.
However, most analysts remain bullish on Nike’s outlook. The consensus is for the company to announce revenues of $12.46 billion and EPS of $1.12 a share.
Costco (COST)
Retailer Costco’s earnings always serve as bellwether for how consumer spending is performing in the U.S. And you can bet that industry analysts will be watching closely on Sept. 23 to see if the Seattle-based warehouse club has been able to maintain its growth coming out of the pandemic.
Costco’s business has been going gangbusters since Covid-19 arrived in March 2020 and its share price has responded. COST stock is up 22% year-to-date and has risen 33% over the past 12 months. The trendline has been straight up since March of this year and Costco shares now trade at $458.83 each.
In the past year, as consumers stocked up on groceries and supplies and sheltered in place at home, Costco managed to add 4.8 million members to bring its global total to 60.6 million. Those members pay a fee of up to $120 a year for the privilege to shop at Costco. The company’s e-commerce sales more than doubled in 2020. However, in its most recent monthly sales report for August, Costco reported that almost all of its sales growth came from in-store sales as consumers return to its physical retail outlets in droves.
Analysts expect Costco to report revenue of $61.23 billion and EPS of $3.55 for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Upcoming Earnings Reports: Rite Aid (RAD)
Drug store chain Rite Aid rounds out earnings next week, reporting on Sept. 23. And the company’s stock could certainly use a lift from a strong report.
While RAD stock remains up 10% for the year, it has declined 36% in the past six months. At their current price of $17.58, the shares are 47% below their 52-week high of $32.48. The Philadelphia-based company that has nearly 2,500 drugstore locations across the U.S. has seen its stock crater since its last earnings release in June. The shares sold off 14% immediately after the earnings were made public.
Rite Aid reported revenue of $6.16 billion previously, below the consensus estimate of $6.21 billion. However, Rite Aid’s EPS of 38 cents per share beat the average analyst’s forecast of 22 cents per share. What really prompted the stock’s selloff was that the company lowered its forward guidance, saying it expects a net loss per share of between 24 cents and 79 cents for the full year. Wall Street had expected Rite Aid to post full year earnings of 80 cents per share. Any beat on next week’s quarterly results could provide some welcome relief to RAD stock.
Expectations are for Rite Aid to report revenue of $6.25 billion and an EPS loss of 42 cents.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Joel Baglole has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and has also written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star newspapers, as well as financial websites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia.