Earnings Data Deluge
Q3 earnings season dominates the headlines this morning, with no major economic releases hitting the tape ahead of today’s market open, and hopes of a stimulus deal from Congress once again on the wane. Fed official Lael Brainard gave another warning this morning about the negative affect a lack of stimulus will have on the U.S. labor market, but to this point the two sides look too far apart to reach a deal.
Verizon VZ posted a 3-cent beat to $1.25 per share in its Q3 report, with revenues coming in close to dead-even (-0.09%) at $31.54 billion. Sales year over year have also come down a tad, although guidance for full-year 2020 is up, as were subscriber adds overall in Q3. Shares are up 0.75% on the news ahead of the bell, but still -6% year to date. For more on VZ’s earnings, click here.
Abbott Labs ABT beat the Zacks consensus by 8 cents to 98 cents per share in its Q3 earnings release this morning, with quarterly sales up 4.67% from expectations to $8.85 billion. The pharma major, located in the Chicago suburbs, received “emergency use” status for its Covid-19 rapid test in August, which has helped bolster the company’s near-term outlook. Guidance for full-year earnings is now $3.55 per share on the bottom end, 5 cents higher than the Zacks consensus prior to the report. For more on ABT’s earnings, click here.
Thermo Fisher TMO, a Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) stock ahead of its Q3 earnings, put up impressive beats on both top and bottom lines: $5.63 per share was well ahead of the $4.37 our analysts were expecting, with $8.52 billion in sales beating estimates by 10%. This medical products manufacturer, with a wide portfolio offering from instruments to antibodies, was already up 43% year to date, and has gained another 3.5% on its earnings news. The company also has not posted a quarterly earnings miss since Q4 2009! For more on TMO’s earnings, click here.
After the closing bell this afternoon, we look forward to earnings reports from noteworthy companies like Chipotle CMG and CSX Corp. CSX. But much of the attention will be given to Tesla TSLA, which reports Q3 earnings later today.
Tesla is currently on track to post its first yearly profit in the company’s history. Expectations currently are for earnings of 55 cents per share in Q3, up 48.65% year over year, on $8.29 billion in sales, which is +31.45% from a year ago. The company has beaten in the past 4 quarters, by an average of +645% — based on a whopping +1340% surprise in the September quarter of 2019. Previous to that, Tesla had disappointed investors on the bottom line in 6 of its prior 10 quarters, going back to 2017.
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