Equity investors should brace for another busy week as some more of the largest U.S. companies report quarterly earnings amid signs that the global supply disruptions and labor shortages have begun to hurt some players.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), two of the world's largest tech companies, last week reported earnings that missed analysts’ expectations, creating investor doubts that their record-setting profit streaks will continue in future quarters.
Despite this uncertainty, the U.S. stock market set another round of record highs on Friday when three of the major indices—the S&P 500, Dow Jones and NASDAQ—closed at record highs, and the SPX and NASDAQ finished their best months since November 2020.
During the upcoming week, investors will get a chance to find out the most recent quarterly earnings from some of the country's largest companies. Below, three stocks from different sectors worth focusing on:
1. Pfizer
Global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) will report Q3 earnings on Tuesday, Nov. 2, before the market open. Analysts expect the healthcare mega cap to post $1.08 a share earnings on sales of $22.58 billion.
Pfizer is one of the global leaders in COVID-19 vaccine production, supplying billions of shots to governments worldwide as they fight the deadly virus. The company projected in July that it expects its COVID vaccine to bring in $33.5 billion in revenue this year, putting it on course to become one of the best-selling medicines of all time, according to Bloomberg.
The New York-based drugmaker had previously projected vaccine sales for the year of $26 billion. The upward revision is a sign demand for the shots, which Pfizer sells with German partner BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX), remains strong.The company also plans to develop new products using its messenger RNA technology.
Pfizer shares have gained 19% this year, closing on Friday at $43.74.
2. Qualcomm
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) is another high profile company scheduled to report quarterly earnings in the upcoming week, on Wednesday, Nov. 3, after the close. Analysts anticipate the San Diego-based chipmaker will report $2.26 a share profit on $8.85 billion sales.
Qualcomm, which primarily manufactures chips for the smartphone industry, is likely to provide insight on supply disruptions and chip shortages in the coming months, especially at a time when iPhone-maker Apple is struggling to meet demand.
In July, the world’s largest smartphone chipmaker, delivered a bullish quarterly forecast, helped by the growth of 5G networks and consumer demand for new devices. Qualcomm shares, however, have fallen more than 12% this year as global chip shortages make its future outlook uncertain.
Its stock closed on Friday at $133.04.
3. Uber
The world’s largest ride-hailing company, Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER), will report Q3 earnings on Thursday, Nov. 4 after the market close. According to analyst consensus forecasts, the San Francisco-based ride services platform will announce a loss of $0.34 a share on sales of $4.41 billion.
Uber shares have been under pressure this year, falling more than 14%, on concerns that a shortage of drivers will hamper growth as the economy reopens and people restart booking rides. The stock closed on Friday at $43.82, after falling about 2% for the day.
The company has told investors this year that spending on recruiting drivers will impact earnings, creating doubts about the company’s goal to reach profitability by the end of the year.
At the same time, Uber is aggressively expanding into the delivery business. It made a $2.25 billion purchase of Transplace in July. It also moved into grocery and alcohol delivery through acquisitions, added package delivery, and struck a partnership with Philadelphia-based GoPuff to ferry convenience store items to customers.