Earnings Preview: Novo Nordisk, Merck, Time Warner, Viacom

Updated on

Earnings season continues Wednesday morning with reports from Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TMX) and Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA) which are all expected to release their reports before opening bell.

Earnings Preview: Novo Nordisk, Merck, Time Warner, Viacom

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) is expected to report first quarter earnings of 8.32 Danish krona on revenue of 83.8 billion Danish krona. The company has been fairly consistent with earnings and revenue reports over the last three quarters, meeting consensus in the previous two quarters but significantly beating consensus in the first quarter of last year.

Today the company also gave an update on its share repurchase program. Between Jan. 29 and April 29, the company bought back B shares totally to 3 billion Danish krona.

Analysts are predicting that Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) will report earnings of 79 cents per share on revenue of $11.1 billion. The company’s last five earnings reports have been small positive surprises.

It was announced on Monday that Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) will team up with Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) to develop a medication for type 2 diabetes. The drug is already in phase III evaluation, and trials are expected to start later this year.

Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TMX) is expected to announce earnings of 75 cents on revenue of $7.1 billion, according to a consensus of analysts polled by Bloomberg Businessweek. Four of the company’s last five earnings reports have been positive surprises. It announced last month that it will spin off its Time Magazine division by the end of the year.

Analysts predict that Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA) will report quarterly earnings of 95 cents on revenue of $3.2 billion. In the same quarter a year ago, the company posted a positive surprise of more than 11 percent. The cable provider currently faces a lawsuit filed by Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC), which sued Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA) because it threatened to impose a more than $1 billion penalty if it refused to pay for channels it didn’t want.

Leave a Comment