With Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s stocks are soaring after its earnings beat and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) yet to announce, there are a number of companies that are being overlooked as they ready themselves for the stock swings that accompany both positive and negative reports. We don’t believe in this tunnel vision and have previewed five other companies posting “before the bell” on Wednesday.
EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC):
EMC is a global leader in cloud computing solutions. It provides enterprise storage systems, software and networks services to some of the largest and most familiar corporations. Many believe the stock to be quite undervalued and it could be poised to move considerably higher in the coming months beginning with Wednesday’s earnings report.
Additionally, EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) owns a large stake in the cloud software company VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW). EMC and VMware recently decided to move forward together to create a new company called “Pivotal”. The new company will provide data analysis in this rapidly expanding field.
Consensus earnings estimates put EMC at $0.40 per share compared to $0.37 in Q1 2012. Quarterly revenues are expected to rise to $5.4 billion from $5.1 billion a year ago. Analysts expect the year’s EPS to come in at $1.86 this year compared to $1.70 in the same time frame.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F):
Analysts fear that Ford’s losses in Europe continue to keep it from making it the stock that investors love. The Big Blue Oval may yet have a few tricks up its sleeve and many remain long on the American automaker. For those who watch the BBC’s “Top Gear” and their near constant focus on both the Ford Focus and the Ford Transit (Van) it might come as a shock that Detroit is not blowing it up overseas.
According to ThomsonReuters, current estimates suggests earnings per share of $0.38 on $33.78 billion in revenues for expected year-over-year declines in EPS of 3 percent while revenue growth is expected at +3 percent year-over-year.
Ultimately, Ford’s problems may not be representative of a problem with Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) but rather the growing problem in Europe.
General Dynamics Corporation (GD):
It’s earnings week for the biggest defense contractors. The top five are all reporting their first-quarter numbers by Wednesday. While the cuts mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act officially kicked in two months ago they won’t have any bearing on Wednesday’s Q1 announcement.
Analysts estimates predict that earnings per share for General Dynamics will come in at $1.50 down 4.5 percent from this quarter last year while the average revenue estimate suggests quarterly revenue will be down 0.5 percent to $7.54 billion for the quarter.
While General Dynamics always seems to be winning contracts they are not the elephants of years past. While the sequestration will not help going forward, General Dynamics Corporation (GD) has been doing this for quite some time.
Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES):
Hess Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an independent energy company worldwide. It operates in two segments, Exploration and Production (E&P), and Marketing and Refining (M&R). It had either a wonderful Earth Day today for an energy company or is simply waiting for a breakout when its earnings are reported on Wednesday.
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, consensus analyst estimates predict Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES)’s revenues will shrink -4.2 percent and EPS will expand 4.7 percent. The average estimate for revenue is $9.33 billion. while the average EPS estimate is $1.57.
Lorillard Inc. (NYSE:LO):
In December 2010, a Boston jury returned a $151 million dollar verdict against Lorillard Tobacco Company for giving out free samples of cigarettes to children in urban housing projects in the 1950s; since then the company has been a bit more forward thinking when in 2010 they became the first major cigarette manufacturer to look towards electronic cigarettes.
Analysts are expecting Lorillard Inc. (NYSE:LO) to report earnings of $0.63 cents per share, up 8.6 percent from a year ago when it reported earnings of $0.58cents per share.
The consensus estimate has declined a touch from $0.64 cents in March. For the fiscal year, analysts are projecting earnings of $3.08 per share. A year after enjoying revenue of $1.53 billion, analysts expect revenue to fall 27.3 percent year-over-year to $1.11 billion for the quarter. For the year, revenue is expected to total $4.92 billion.
