Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) and LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) all have earnings reports coming up before the end of the month, and analysts are providing details on what to expect. Facebook’s report is expected on Oct. 28, while Twitter is scheduled to report the day before, and LinkedIn is expected to report the day after Facebook.
JPMorgan analysts are expecting solid reports from all three social network and all across the internet sector. In their report dated Oct. 10, 2014, analyst Dough Anmuth and his team said Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are among their favorite names in the space.
What to expect in Facebook’s earnings report
The JPMorgan team is expecting Facebook to report $2.87 billion in ad revenue for the third quarter, although they see upside to that estimate as being likely. They say mobile and desktop News Feed ads will drive ad revenue for the quarter.
They suspect that advertiser demand and also ad quality through the third quarter continued building, noting that comScore data suggested that engagement continued to be strong. The firm reported that Facebook’s mobile time share was 20% and that its overall internet share was 18%. The analysts believe relevancy and click-through rates will continue to grow.
In the third quarter, they think the social network saw benefits from increases in brand advertising, specifically among automakers, CPG marketers and offline retailers. The JPMorgan team said Facebook is still their favorite idea and reiterated their Overweight rating and $90 per share price target.
What to expect in Twitter’s earnings report
The analysts upgraded Twitter recently because they’re expecting to see user growth and monetization continue to improve. They think engagement is increasing because of the micro-blogging platform’s onboarding and rich content efforts. They note that Twitter is still experimenting with different organizations of content while also trying to monetize its logged-out users.
They added that recent checks of Twitter ads “have been more positive” and noted that the micro-blogging platform is in the early stages of direct response advertising as well as video or rich media, mobile app install ads, international advertising and self-serve. They expect Twitter’s margin to continue expanding due to improving monetization and the platform’s “user-generated content.”
They’re expecting $365 million in third quarter revenue, $56 million in EBITDA and 17 million monthly active user net adds.
What to expect in LinkedIn’s earnings report
The JPMorgan team remains positive on LinkedIn, especially its Talen Solutions revenue. They’re expecting revenue for the segment to rise 41% year over year to $335 million. They note that the social network’s last couple of quarters have shown that revenue growth is stabilizing while revenue per user is accelerating.
They also believe that the company’s investments in big clients are bringing returns even as it focuses on small- to medium-sized businesses. The analysts say they’re “encouraged” by the feedback they’ve heard so far on LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator. However, they expect more material impact from the company’s Premiums Subscriptions segment next year.
