We have to wait another few weeks before Q3 earnings season really takes the spotlight, but the reporting cycle has gotten underway already, with results from 8 S&P 500 members out and another 8 index members on deck to report this week. All of these early reporters have fiscal quarters ending in August, but they get counted as part of the September-quarter tally.
All in all, we will have seen Q3 results from almost two dozen S&P 500 members by the time JPMorgan (JPM) (unofficially) kicks-off this earnings season on Friday, October 12.
The notable earnings reports coming out this week include:
Nike (NKE) reports after the markets close on Tuesday, September 25, with the company expected to earn 62 cents in EPS on $9.88 billion in revenues, up +8.8% and +8.9% from the year-earlier period, respectively. The stock was up big following the last earnings release on June 28, which followed three back-to-back quarters of varying degrees of negative reactions to quarterly reports. Estimates have remained stable ahead of this release, but the stock has been a standout performer lately, up +37% this year vs. +4.9% gain for the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector and +9.7% gain for the S&P 500 index. Given the stock’s recent outperformance, it is likely that market participants will something in the report that isn’t to their liking.
CarMax (KMX) reports before the market’s open on Wednesday, September 26, with the company expected to earn $1.22 per share on $4.7 billion in revenues, up +24.5% and +7.2% from the year-earlier period. While the company had to temporarily close down about 7% of its stores located in the Carolinas for Hurricane Florence, the disruption last year was a lot worse given its heavy presence in Florida and Georgia. The stock is up +22.6% in the year-to-date period, modestly lagging its industry, but doing better than the broader market.
Accenture (ACN) reports before the market’s open on Thursday, September 27, with the consulting firm expected to earn $1.55 per share on $9.98 billion in revenues, up +4.7% and +9.1% from the year-earlier period, respectively. Estimates have modestly come down in recent days, likely due to FX reasons. But the stock has been a strong performer, up +14% in the year-to-date period. Management’s commentary about the state of the business will likely have read-through for other operators like IBM (IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE).