This is your Investing Action Plan, what you need to know for the week ahead. Tesla (TSLA), ServiceNow (NOW), 3M (MMM), Lockheed Martin (LMT) are among the hundreds of stocks reporting.
Stocks To Watch
The stock market rally is still trending higher but earnings season is heating up. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is flashing a buy signal on strong Q3 results. Freshpet (FRPT) is holding in a buy zone with earnings a couple weeks away. Spotify (SPOT) is trading tightly in a buy zone while Broadcom (AVGO) is actionable with quarterly financials a few weeks away. SentinelOne (S) is flirting with a buy point as cybersecurity stocks set up.
↑
X
Tesla Earnings Are On The Horizon. These Are The Two Growth Drivers To Watch.
Economic Calendar
The coming week will be light on economic data with the highlight likely being Thursday morning’s release of initial jobless claims for the week through Oct. 19 at 8:30 a.m. ET. The unknown is whether a jump in claims from Hurricane Milton will offset the drop in new claims from Helene. The Boeing (BA) strike and related layoffs are another wild card. However, the underlying trend in claims still appears pretty benign. September new-home sales are due at 10 a.m. ET Thursday. A key question is whether homebuilders took advantage of lower mortgage rates to boost sales or to raise margins by easing back on incentives. Existing-homes sales for September are due out Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Tesla Due With Earnings Call In Focus
Tesla (TSLA) reports Wednesday night with analysts predicting third-quarter earnings will fall 9% to 60 cents per share while sales increase 9% to $25.46 billion in Q3, according to FactSet. In early October, Tesla reported global third-quarter deliveries increased 6% compared to a year ago, its third best quarterly total ever. The EV giant saw vehicle unit sales return to growth, buoyed by strength in China, where margins are lower. Coming out of the Oct. 10 robotaxi event, investors will be looking for details on the Q3 earnings call about Full Self-Driving specifics as well as any hints on the still-unseen “affordable” vehicle and the long-awaited Model Y refresh. Tesla stock has tumbled in October.
ServiceNow Headlines Software Earnings
Enterprise software maker ServiceNow (NOW) reports Q3 earnings on Oct. 23. Wall Street analysts expect ServiceNow earnings to rise 18% to $3.45 per share, with revenue climbing 20% to $2.75 billion. Germany’s SAP (SAP) reports Q3 results early Oct. 21. Analysts estimate EPS of $1.32, down 14% from a year earlier, with revenue rising 13% to $9.3 billion. Investors would like clarity on the risks to federal contracts related to Carahsoft price-fixing probe. Manhattan Associates (MANH) (Oct. 22),Pegasystems (PEGA) (Oct. 23) and AppFolio (APPF) (Oct. 24) also are on tap, with analysts expecting EPS growth of 1%, 229% and 74%, respectively.
GE Earnings
GE Aerospace (GE) reports third-quarter results early Tuesday following its April spinoff. In industry previews, analysts broadly lifted their price targets on GE shares and expect to hear positive commentary regarding aftermarket services and demand. FactSet forecasts earnings of $1.13 per share on $9 billion in revenue. GE stock is up 40% after its spinoff and extended from a Sept. 13 breakout.
Bullish Trend Continues; Two Warren Buffett Stocks In Buy Zones
Defense Earnings
Lockheed Martin (LMT) and RTX (RTX) lead defense earnings starting Tuesday, followed by General Dynamics (GD) on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman (NOC), L3Harris (LHX) and Textron (TXT) all report Thursday. Analysts expect the defense sector to benefit from heightened tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, as well as additional production contracts. However, the Boeing strike affect various program partnerships. FactSet forecasts earnings for Lockheed and Northrop to decline modestly while revenue increases. Analysts expect profit and sales growth for the rest of the reporting companies. LMT stock, RTX and GD have all rallied to record highs this year. GD stock and LHX are both trading in buy zones for flat bases. Textron shares are basing with a 97.33 buy point.
Homebuilders
PulteGroup (PHM) announces third-quarter results early Tuesday. Analysts project Q3 EPS of $3.11 on sales of $4.26 billion, both up 7%. vs. Q3 2023. Taylor Morrison Home (TMHC) announces before Wednesday’s open, with earnings seen rising 34% and revenue climbing 17%. NVR (NVR) is expected to report Q3 EPS up 4% and revenue advancing 5%.
Dow Jones Conglomerates On Tap
3M (MMM) announces early Tuesday. Analysts expect Q3 EPS to drop 15% to $1.90 with sales falling about 24% to $6.06 billion. Honeywell (HON) reports Thursday, with EPS forecast to climb 10% and revenue rise 7%. 3M spun off its Solventum (SOLV) health care unit earlier this year while Honeywell recently said it would spin off its advanced materials business. 3M is pausing after a big run while Honeywell is nearing a buy point.
Hospitals Due Amid Spending Tailwind
Universal Health Services (UHS) reports Q3 results late Thursday and HCA Healthcare (HCA) early Friday as hospitals benefit from some of the medical spending trends that have pressured the managed-care firms. Universal Health EPS should rise 46% to $3.72 as revenue grows 10% to $3.904 billion. HCA earnings are expected to increase 27% to $4.96 a share on 8% revenue growth to $17.54 billion. Both stocks have rebounded to around highs amid a boost in Medicaid payments to hospitals in a number of states.
Texas Instruments Leads Chip Earnings
Texas Instruments (TXN) reports Q3 results late Tuesday. Analysts expect TI to earn $1.38 a share, down 25% year over year, on sales of $4.12 billion, down 9%. That would mark its eighth consecutive quarter of declining sales and earnings as it navigates a cyclical downturn in demand. Wall Street isn’t predicting growth for TI until the Q1 2025. Impinj (PI) and MaxLinear (MXL) will release their Q3 results late Wednesday, along with semiconductor equipment firms Lam Research (LRCX) and Teradyne (TER).
Telecom Giants Report
Verizon Communications (VZ) reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 22 followed by AT&T (T) and T-Mobile US (TMUS) on Oct. 23. Verizon earnings are expected to fall 3% to $1.18 per share, with revenue flat at $33.5 billion. T-Mobile’s EPS is expected to pop 33% to $2.43 per share, with revenue up 4% to $20 billion. For AT&T, analysts estimate Q3 adjusted EPS down 11% on flat revenue of $30.4 billion. Analysts expect T-Mobile to again lead in wireless “postpaid phone” subscriber growth, with a gain of 742,000. AT&T should add 435,000 and Verizon 218,000.
Boeing Earnings
Boeing (BA) will release Q3 results early Wednesday amid a 33,000-strong strike from its International Association of Machinists union factory workers. The Dow Jones giant on Oct. 11 announced preliminary results, predicting a GAAP loss of $9.97 per share on $17.8 billion in revenue. Boeing forecasts its commercial airplanes and defense divisions to incur over $5 billion in charges for various delivery delays and program cancellations, in part due to the work stoppage. To bolster its finances, Boeing on Oct. 15 secured a $10 billion credit agreement with multiple banks and filed to raise up to $25 billion in stock and debt. It also announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce over the coming months, affecting roughly 17,000 employees. BA stock climbed off its 2024 lows during the week, but has still tumbled 40% this year.
GM Earnings Due Amid EV Boomlet
Due early Tuesday, General Motors (GM) earnings are expected to rise 5% with sales up 1%. That would mark a sharp deceleration from 60% earnings growth and 7% revenue growth in the prior second quarter. GM has already reported that U.S. new vehicle sales fell 2% in the third quarter, while China sales are tumbling. Its U.S. EV sales are surging on the back of newer and cheaper models, with production finally starting to ramp up. However, electric vehicles remain money losers for most legacy carmakers. GM stock is near a buy point.
Copper Plays Due
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Southern Copper (SCCO) are due Tuesday with Teck Resources (TECK) set to report early Thursday. Higher year-over-year copper prices will help provide a topline boost for Freeport, which is seen posting 11% revenue growth to $6.447 billion, even as EPS slips 6% to 37 cents. Southern Copper sales should rise 17.5% to $2.945 billion as EPS jumps 41% to $1.11. Teck, whose big copper mine expansion in Chile has faced cost overruns, is expected to see sales drop 23% as EPS slides 51%. Copper prices have been volatile lately amid shifting expectations for China stimulus. All three stocks are forming handles on the end of consolidations.
In Brief
Medpace (MEDP) early Tuesday is seen reporting a 25% EPS gain to $2.78 with sales up nearly 10% to $541 million. %.
Celestica (CLS) late Wednesday should post EPS of 93 cents, up 43%, with revenue up 18% to $2.41 billion. The company assembles communications and enterprise computer gear as well as equipment for aerospace and defense, industrial, health tech and other sectors.
ResMed (RMD) is on deck to report fiscal Q1 earnings late Thursday. Analysts expect the maker of continuous positive airway pressure devices (CPAP) to report adjusted EPS of $2.05 on $1.19 billion in sales, up a respective 25% and 8%.
Hilton (HLT) reports early Wednesday with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH) following after the close. Hilton is expected to see profit grow 11% to $1.85 per share with revenue up 8% to $2.89 billion, according to FactSet. Wyndham’s Q3 EPS is forecast to climb 5% with sales up 2%.
NextEra Energy (NEE) reports before Wednesday’s open. Consensus has Q3 EPS growing 4% to 98 cents with sales increasing 13% to $8.08 billion. NEE shares have rebounded off support at the 50-day moving average.
Evercore (EVR) reports early Wednesday. Analysts expect earnings to increase 54% to $2 per share on almost 24% revenue growth to $709 million. EVR stock is extended above a buy zone, at record highs.
Vertiv (VRT) is expected to report a 33% EPS gain to 69 cents early Wednesday with sales increasing 14% to $1.98 billion. The cooling play for AI data centers is near record highs.
TechnipFMC (FTI) reports before Thursday’s open. Consensus has EPS growing 86% to 39 cents and sales rising 14% to $2.34 billion. The oil machinery play has found support at its 50-day moving average.
Western Digital (WDC) reports fiscal Q1 earnings Thursday night. Analysts expect the memory chip maker to swing to a profit of $1.71 per share vs. a loss of $1.76 per share a year earlier. Sales are seen rising 51% to $4.1 billion. Western Digital stock has gained 30% this year as revenue growth has accelerated and investors prepare for a planned split of Western Digital’s flash memory and hard-disk drive businesses.
Skechers (SKX) and Hoka maker Deckers (DECK) report late Thursday. FactSet expects Skechers EPS to climbed 18% on nearly 14% revenue growth to $2.3 billion. Analysts predict Deckers earnings will climb 8% with sales up 10% to $1.2 billion.
Tractor Supply (TSCO) reports early Thursday. Analysts expect the farm supply retailer to post a 4% earnings decline to $2.24 per share. Revenue is seen growing 2% on flattish same-store sales.
Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) reports late Thursday. Analysts expect the steak chain to deliver 38% EPS growth, year over year, on a 14% revenue gain. Shares are in a buy zone.
United Rentals (URI), the world’s largest equipment rental company serving construction and industrial markets, is set to report Q3 results after Wednesday’s close. Analysts expect EPS to grow 7% to $12.56 as sales rise a steady 6% to $4.008 billion. URI stock is extended from a September breakout.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Why This IBD Tool Simplifies The Search For Top Stocks
Catch The Next Big Winning Stock With MarketSurge
Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch
IBD Digital: Unlock IBD’s Premium Stock Lists, Tools And Analysis Today
How To Invest: Rules For When To Buy And Sell Stocks In Bull And Bear Markets