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Technology Stock Earnings on Oct 25: SHOP, GOOGL and More

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The third-quarter earnings season has begun, with results of 84 S&P 500 members out as of Oct 19. Per the latest Earnings Preview, total earnings of these 84 members increased 19.2% from the same period last year on 8.4% higher revenues, with 82.1% beating EPS estimates and 61.9% beating revenue estimates.

Further, the report suggests that third-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are projected to improve 19.2% year over year on 7.2% higher revenues.

Technology sector earnings are expected to improve 15% year over year while revenues are likely to rise 11.4%. Notably, it is one of the 10 sectors anticipated to report double-digit earnings growth in the quarter to be reported.

Factors Driving Tech Sector Growth

The sector continues to benefit from strong demand environment for digital transformation. Notably, cloud computing, predictive analysis, artificial intelligence (AI), self-driving vehicles, digital personal assistants and Internet of Things (IoT) have been key drivers in this regard.

Increasing number of Internet users coupled with improvement in Internet penetration and rapid adoption of 4G Volte technology have also been catalysts. The accelerated deployment of 5G technology is also likely to spur growth.

Additionally, robust increase in overall IT spending is giving further impetus to the tech sector. Per the latest report by Gartner, worldwide IT spending is projected to witness growth of 4.5% to reach $3.7 trillion this year.

Let’s see what’s in store for the following five technology stocks slated to report third-quarter 2018 earnings on Oct 25.

Shopify’s (SHOP - Free Report) third-quarter results are likely to benefit from focus on developing merchant base, addition of functionalities, robust partner ecosystem and solid mobile domain. (Read more: Shopify to Report Q3 Earnings: Is a Beat in Store?)

Moreover, the company is likely to beat expectations as it has a favorable combination of an Earnings ESP of +112.19% and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1, 2 (Buy) or 3 has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP. Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) are best avoided.

We also note that the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 232.5%.

Shopify Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Shopify Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Shopify Inc. Quote

Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) results are likely to benefit from its search dominance and expanding cloud market footprint. Also, Google’s expanding footprint in the vehicle infotainment space is expected to boost the adoption rate of Android OS and drive the top line. (Read more: What's in the Offing for Alphabet in Q3 Earnings?)

However, Alphabet has an unfavorable combination of Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of -1.64%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Notably, the company outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 10.38%.

Alphabet Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Alphabet Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Alphabet Inc. Quote

Twitter is likely to benefit from strength in video advertising coupled with focus on new features that are driving user growth. Further, its efforts to fight fake news are expected to restore the trust of its users and repair the brand’s image. (Read more: Video Push & New Features to Drive Twitter Q3 Earnings)

Twitter also has an unfavorable combination a Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of -56.31%.

We note that the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 33.93%.

Twitter, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Twitter, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Twitter, Inc. Quote

VeriSign (VRSN - Free Report) results are likely to benefit from higher domain name registrations driven by growing need for global Internet consumption. (Read more: VeriSign to Report Q3 Earnings: What's in Store?)

The company has an unfavorable combination of Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of -1.12%.

Notably, the company outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 1.37%.

VeriSign, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

GrubHub’s third-quarter results are likely to benefit from its rapidly growing active diner base and strengthening delivery business. (Read more: GrubHub Set to Report Q3 Earnings: What's in Store?)

However, the company has a Zacks Rank #4 and an Earnings ESP of -4.55%.

We note that the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 25.6%.

GrubHub Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

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VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN) - free report >>

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