Monday, July 30, 2018
This week, we expect loads of economic data to come out, from Personal Incomes and Consumer Spending tomorrow, ADP’s private sector employment read and ISM Manufacturing survey results Wednesday, Weekly Jobless Claims data on Thursday, and an all-new non-farm payroll report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Friday, complete with a new headline number for U.S. unemployment. Until then, however, new Q2 earnings results — from now the busiest week of the quarter for earnings — will have to suffice.
Even the biggest of those numbers will have to wait a bit: Apple AAPL reports quarterly earnings after the closing bell Tuesday and Tesla TSLA reports Wednesday after market close. Thursday afternoon we get new results from CBS Corp. CBS, which just this morning is being roiled in controversy regarding its long-time CEO Les Moonves, who is stepping down after being accused of improper sexual behavior.
Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rated Caterpillar CAT posted record-high Q2 revenues on its way to its 14th straight earnings beat. Earnings of $2.82 per share easily outpaced the $2.66 per share in the Zacks consensus and up 89% year over year. Those record-high revenues reached $14.01 billion in Q2, higher than the $13.77 billion analysts had been expecting.
Even better for Caterpillar? The company raised full-year guidance to a range of $11-12 per share. The Zacks consensus prior to the company’s earnings release was for earnings of $10.75 per share, itself nearly a 60% jump year over year. For more on CAT’s earnings, click here.
Real estate investment trust (REIT) Simon Property Group SPG, a developer and manger of shopping malls, reported funds from operations (FFO — an important metric for REITs, which most closely aligns with what non-REITs call “earnings”) of $2.98 per share, 7 cents higher than anticipated. Sales in the quarter slightly nudged ahead of revenue estimates and year-over-year actuals, to $1.39 billion in the quarter. For more on SPG’s quarterly report, click here.
However, diversified conglomerate Lowes Corp. L missed earnings for the first time in nine quarters, reporting a penny light of expectations to 72 cents per share. Its Diamond Offshore Drilling DO component posted a greater-than-expected loss to -50 cents per share in the quarter, while CNA Insurance CNA topped estimates by 3 cents to 99 cents per share. For more on L’s earnings, click here.
Mark Vickery
Senior Editor
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