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2 Diverse Stocks to Buy on the Earnings Beat

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This week’s earnings lineup was much anticipated with many notable companies releasing their quarterly results.

Among them, several top-rated Zacks stocks are starting to stand out. Here two of these stocks’ investors may want to consider after beating earnings expectations.

General Electric (GE - Free Report) )

After crushing earnings expectations on Tuesday General Electric’s stock looks more attractive and currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Wall Street was pleasantly surprised with General Electric’s quarterly results as the multi-sector conglomerate received a boost from the aviation industry as a leading provider of aircraft engines.

General Electric’s first-quarter earnings were up 12% YoY and crushed expectations by 107% at $0.27 per share compared to estimates of $0.13 a share. Sales also topped Q1 estimates by 7% at $14.48 billion although this was down -15% YoY making the company’s earnings beat more impressive.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Furthermore, earnings estimate revisions could continue to trend higher for GE after the strong Q1 results and provide more upside for the stock. Earnings are now forecasted to dip -24% this year but soar 103% in FY24 at $4.04 per share.

General Electric stock is up +15% year to date to top the S&P 500’s +6% and its Diversified Operations Markets -6%.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

KimberlyClark (KMB - Free Report) )

Sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) consumer products provider Kimberly-Clark easily topped its Q1 earnings estimates on Tuesday as well.

With popular brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, and Cottonelle, Kimberly-Clark is still benefiting from a favorable product mix and by reducing operating costs with its cost savings program and strategy FORCE (Focused On Reducing Costs Everywhere).

First-quarter earnings of $1.67 per share beat expectations by 24% with Q1 EPS estimates at $1.34. This was also up 24% YoY with earnings at $1.35 per share in Q1 2022. Sales for the quarter topped estimates by 2% at $5.19 billion and were up roughly 2% from the prior-year quarter.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Furthermore, this is starting to reconfirm Kimberly-Clarks annual growth and the efficiency of its FORCE program. Fiscal 2023 earnings are forecasted to rise 5% this year and jump another 16% in FY24 at $6.91 per share. On the top line, sales are projected to be up 1% this year and rise another 2% in FY24 to $20.94 billion.  

Shares of KMB are up +6% year to date to roughly match the benchmark and outperform the Consumer Products-Miscellaneous Staples Markets -1%.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Takeaway

The strong quarterly results are a good sign that there could be more upside in General Electric and Kimberly-Clark stock this year. These companies have diverse product lines and are starting to look like viable investments for 2023 and beyond with it quite possible that annual earnings estimates will continue to rise.  


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