Earnings momentum: Analysts are getting more bullish on these names reporting next week

Published Fri, Apr 19 20241:55 PM EDT

As first quarter earnings season rolls on, analysts are upping their forecasts on a collection of names set to report next week. More than 35 S & P 500 companies reported quarterly results this week, including streaming giant Netflix as well as credit card firm American Express on Thursday and Friday. Overall, stocks are heading for a losing week, with the S & P 500 falling on Friday for a sixth straight day. The earnings season has also been mixed. More than 73% of companies that reported thus far have beaten expectations. However, the blended earnings growth rate — a metric that considers the reports already out and the estimate for those pending — points to a year-over-year profit expansion of just 0.16%. Analysts expected growth of more than 3%, per FactSet. There are some stocks reporting next week that could outperform, however. CNBC Pro screened FactSet data for S & P 500 companies reporting next week that met the following criteria: Earnings per share estimates up 10% in past three and six months Average analyst price target up 10% or more in past three and six months Meta Platforms made the list. Shares have surged more than 40% in 2024. Analysts are also upping their forecasts ahead of the company's first-quarter results on April 24. According to FactSet data, analysts have upwardly revised their earnings estimates by more than 18% over the past three months. Analysts now forecast first-quarter earnings of $4.31 per share, respectively. META YTD mountain Meta Platforms stock. Part of Meta's underlying strength in 2024 can be attributed to higher revenue from advertising on Instagram, which helped profits rise 25% in the fourth-quarter . Investors have also cheered the company's AI push. Meta said on Thursday its artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, would be integrated into WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. Bank of America analyst Justin Post noted Friday that revenue strength from the fourth-quarter should carry over into next week's results, and also underpin a strong second-quarter earnings guide. "We remain positive on Meta and reiterate our thesis that Reels, Messaging, and AI driven ad improvements are still early, and could lead to positive product surprises & revenue momentum in 2024," he said. Analysts are also optimistic on GE Aerospace ahead of first-quarter results on April 23. Analysts polled by FactSet have increased their earnings forecasts by nearly 18% over the past three months, and now expect earnings of 66 cents per share. GE YTD mountain GE Aerospace stock. GE Aerospace started trading on Wall Street earlier in April, after General Electric completed a split into three components compromised of GE Vernova, GE Healthcare and GE Aerospace. Shares have climbed more than 49% in 2024. Goldman Sachs listed GE Aerospace as one of its top tactical trades heading for the first-quarter earnings season, with analyst John Marshall lauding its pricing power and potential for growth in after market sales. "[Analyst Noah Poponak] sees the company benefiting from a strong commercial aerospace demand and notes that current demand levels outstrip supply levels driving higher pricing power for GE,' Marshal wrote in a April 11 note. "He sees the company benefiting from a strong commercial aerospace demand and notes that current demand levels outstrip supply levels driving higher pricing power for GE." Other stocks that analysts have increased earnings estimates on include T. Rowe Price and Seagate Technology .