Stocks gained in morning trading Friday as Wall Street looked to bounce back from back-to-back days of losses. Investors are still struggling to find a footing in the wake of last week’s dramatic selling, but it is clear that strong earnings reports will battle with other headwinds for control of market sentiment over the next few weeks.
Earnings season did get off to a solid start this week, with consumer bellwethers such as Johnson & Johnson (JNJ – Free Report) and Netflix (NFLX – Free Report) tallying impressive numbers. Wall Street will hope the latter of those two reports sets the tone for the tech sector, which has been particularly volatile recently as investors reconsider risk.
More major tech reports will begin pouring in next week, and investors should remember to use the Zacks Earnings Calendar during this busy stretch. This handy tool is your perfect one-stop-shop to properly prepare for earnings, dividend announcements, and other important financial releases.
Let’s take a closer look at a few of the sector’s marquee reports due during the week of October 22.
1. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT – Free Report)
Consumer and enterprise tech behemoth Microsoft will file its latest quarterly earnings report after the closing bell on October 24. Microsoft’s momentum hit a wall last week, but the stock is still up over 13% in the past six months, and recent earnings reports have been lifted by strong showings in key growth catalysts such as cloud computing.
According to our latest Zacks Consensus Estimates, analysts are expecting adjusted earnings of 96 cents per share and revenue of $27.72 billion. These figures represent year-over-year growth of 14% and 13%, respectively. Earnings estimates have trended slightly higher over the duration over the quarter, earnings MSFT a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) ahead of the report.
2. Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN – Free Report)
E-commerce king Amazon is scheduled to announce its most recent financial results after US markets close on October 25. Amazon shares, like Microsoft, have pulled back recently. Still, AMZN has been leader of our historic bull market and has notched gains of nearly 14% over the past six months. The company has also crushed earnings estimates over the past year.
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