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Tech giants will be pushed into the spotlight with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon, Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META), and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) all on the earnings stage. The earnings season so far has been somewhat balanced between some sizzling results (think Tesla) and major disappointments (think Netflix). While the economic calendar includes updates on new home sales, durable goods orders, pending home sales, GDP, and trade balance – the bigger focus may be on Federal Reserve expectations. FOMC members will be in a pre-meeting blackout period from giving talks, but analysts will continue to buzz. Bank of America anticipates the Fed will hike 50 basis points at the next three meetings and 25 points thereafter until the fed funds rate reaches 3.50% in May of 2023. Nomura rattled the market a bit with a prediction for 75-basis point hikes at the June and July FOMC meetings after a 50-basis point increase in May.
Earnings spotlight: Monday, April 25 – Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI).
Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, April 26 – Centene (CNC), Alphabet (GOOG), General Motors (GM), Chipotle (CMG), Microsoft (MSFT), UPS (UPS), PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), General Electric (GE) and Visa (V).
Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, April 27 – Boeing (NYSE:BA), Humana (NYSE:HUM), T-Mobile US (TMUS), Ford Motor (F), Meta Platforms (FB), Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), and Amgen (AMGN).
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, April 28 – Twitter (TWTR), Comcast (CMCSA), Merck (MRK), Caterpillar (CAT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Intel (INTC), Altria (MO), Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) and PayPal (PYPL).
Earnings spotlight: Friday, April 29 – AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Phillips 66 (PSX) and AbbVie (ABBV).
IPO watch: IPOs expected to price in the week ahead include Tenon Medical (TNON) and SaverOne (SVRE) on April 27. Some of the key IPO lockup period expirations to watch include Rent the Runway (RENT), Arteris (AIP), Marpai (MRAI), GlobalFoundries (GFS), Fluence Energy (FLNC), Solo Brands (DTC), Udemy (UDMY), HireRight Holdings (HRT), Aura Biosciences (AURA), and Entrada Therapeutics (TRDA).
Projected dividend increases: A heavy slate of earnings means that more dividend payout increases could be on the way. Apple (OTC:APPL) is one of the more interesting companies that could reward shareholders with a dividend rate boost to $0.24 from $0.22 forecast. Other notable companies expected to boost their quarterly dividend payouts include Parker-Hannifin (PH) to $1.37 from $1.03, Marathon Oil (MRO) to $0.08 from $0.07, Regal Rexnord Corporation (RRX) to $0.36 from $0.33, Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) to $0.74 from $0.68, American Water (NYSE:AWK) to $0.650 from $0.6025, PepsiCo (PEP) to $1.150 from $1.075, Raytheon Technologies (RTX) to $0.545 from $0.510, Ameriprise Financial (AMP) to $1.20 from $1.13, and Exxon Mobil (XOM) to $0.92 from $0.88.
Corporate events: The Surface Transportation Board will hold public hearings on April 26 to address recent service issues and recovery efforts. Executives from Burlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX), Norfolk Southern (NSC), and Union Pacific (UNP), Canadian National (CN), Canadian Pacific (NYSE:CP), and Kansas City Southern are expected to attend the hearing. The focus of the hearings will be to push the rails companies to detail action plans to address the issues. Ahead of the hearing, Union Pacific said congestion on tracks was hurting its ability to meet shipping demand. Also on April 26, Callaway Golf Company (ELY) will hold an Investor Day event with presentations and Q&A sessions led by members of the Callaway and Topgolf executive leadership teams. Eledon Pharmaceuticals (ELDN) will hold a virtual R&D Day event on April 28. Read more about the events next week that could impact shares prices in Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch.
Conference schedule: The most notable conference during the week is the Chardan 6th Annual Genetic Medicines Manufacturing Summit 2022 with a large number of healthcare companies due to make an appearance. The Berenberg Discover AI Seminar will also be watched with Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX), AbCellera Biologics (ABCL), Absci Corporation (ABSI) and Simulations Plus (SLP) all participating.
Boeing earnings preview: Boeing (BA) is due to report earnings on April 27 to expectations for revenue of $16.16B and EPS of -$0.21. The company already reported commercial deliveries rose 23.4% during the quarter and defense shipments were up 5.1%. JPMorgan previews that no major announcements are likely with regard to the timing of the MAX’s return to service in China or the FAA’s approval of the 787, but thinks updates to aircraft delivery expectations or annual free cash flow guidance could be impactful on share price. The firm also warned of a risk that Boeing could disclose additional charges related to aircraft programs that while non-cash in nature, would still reduce headline EBIT and optically raise calculated leverage.
NAB preview: The media industry will run through a big test next week when the NAB Show in Las Vegas turns a large spotlight on advertising buying trends. After a two-year break, nearly every major broadcast and radio company will make the trek to Vegas for meetings and presentations. Ahead of NAB, Wells Fargo called out Nexstar Media Group (NXST) and Gray Television (GTN) as its favorite sector picks. iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) is noted to have not caught a bid this year, but Wells thinks that could change if the company issued a confident outlook on free cash flow.
Apple earnings preview: Analysts have been incrementally positive on Apple (AAPL) over the last few weeks based off strong iPhone 13 and Mac trends, although there is still plenty of caution over what execs will report about China and the supply chain. Apple is expected to provide its annual capital return update during the earnings call, which could include an incrementally positive capital return update. Morgan Stanley recommends that investors buy AAPL off any earnings weakness with product launches set for later in the year. A wildcard with the Apple earnings call is the Apple Car. A recent patent filing from Apple claimed protection for a “vehicle that has a plurality of cameras, a network interface, a memory, and one or more computer processors.” Apple’s direction with autonomous electric vehicle production is still unclear, with speculation on potential manufacturing partners including from Porsche (OTCPK:POAHY), Tesla (TSLA), Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAF), Hyundai (OTCPK:HYMLF), XPeng (NYSE:XPEV), Nio (NIO), Magna International (MGA), Stellantis (STLA), Foxconn (OTC:FXCOF), Nissan (OTCPK:NSANY), Toyota (TM), and more.
SPAC and M&A watch: The SPAC calendar includes a vote at Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. (ATSPT) on the deal to take AI firm SoundHound public, as well as a vote at Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. (SV) to vote on taking NuScale Power public. On the M&A front, shareholders with 51job (NASDAQ:JOBS) will formally vote on the buyout offer from DCP Capital and Ocean Link Partners. The MKSI and Frontier Group (ULCC) earnings calls will also be closely watched with buyout offers in the hopper. Also watch Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD), with Spear Point having a webinar in regard to its buyout offer.
Annual meetings: IBM (NYSE:IBM) holds its annual meeting on April 26. Across the Atlantic, British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BTI) will hold its annual meeting on April 28.
Barron’s mentions: The cover story takes on the major problems at Meta Platforms (FB) with growth of the core business decelerating. Apple’s consumer changes mean Meta (FB) continues to be looked at by investors in a different light. Shares of Meta are noted to be historically cheap, but the argument is made that they will remain cheap until investors gain confidence that the company can fix the “ad-targeting issue, compete effectively against TikTok, and figure out the metaverse, all while fending off critics who still think the company is far too powerful.” On the other side of the ledger, Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) is sized up favorably in a glowing piece. The company has become leaner with fewer product offerings and a portfolio that delivers improved profitability. The UA balance sheet is also called a major asset as displayed with the recent buybacks announcement.
Sources: EDGAR, Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, Renaissance Capital