One day down, four to go in what will be the first of the two-week peak for the March quarter US earnings season.
The likes of Halliburton and Kimberley Clark on Monday led around a dozen $&P 500 companies.
Over the next four days, around 138 or so S&P 500 groups will report – led by some interesting results from the embattled airline maker, Boeing, plus tech giants such as Amazon and Facebook.
Around 15% or 77 S&P 500 companies reported in the run-up to Easter and another 35% (150 all up) will report this week.
Analysts say that while a fall in earnings is still expected, the results overall won’t be as bad as expected and they point out that the comparators for the first and second quarters are the Trump tax cut boosted March and June quarters of 2018.
With Boeing, investors will be looking for believable estimates of the damage caused by the ground of every 737 Maxx jetliner and a cut to production.
For Amazon, it will be sales growth, especially in its cloud computing operation and the growth in its quickening ad business where it is starting to run up against Facebook and Google (Alphabet).
For Facebook, it will be extra costs from trying to correct the growing list of problems the social media platform is having with fake news, racial abuse, live streaming (in the wake of the Christchurch mosques massacres) and privacy worries.
Microsoft is another tech giant to report – investors will be looking for more good news on its fast-growing cloud computing business which is second to that of Amazon according to analysts.
Others to report over the next four days will include oil giants, Exxon Mobile and Chevron (which last week revealed a $US48 billion cash and share bid for independent, Anardako which is big in shale oil in the US, gas in Africa and oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico).
Manufacturers like Caterpillar, Textron and United Technologies, plus defense groups like Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman are also down to report, along with 3M, Ford, Intel, Texas Instruments and consumer groups like Colgate Palmolive, Starbucks, and Coca Cola.
Airlines like American and Southwestern are also down to report (Warren Buffett will be watching their performance as their biggest investors), Tesla, the electric car and battery group is another high profile reporter – updates on sales, its China expansion and commentary from CEO, Elon Musk will be the big attractions for investors and media. A big loss is expected.
Comcast, the big US cable, telco, and entertainment group is also due to update investors on its first quarter performance, with a lot of attention on its streaming video services and the performance of the 100% owned Sky Plc in the UK.
AT&T also reports and investors will want to see how the integration of Time Warner is going.
Major miners like the newly formed Newmont Goldcorp and Freeport McMorRanare also due to report.
With half the 500 groups on the S&P 500 having reported by Friday, we will be able to say with some confidence how the quarter is traveling and whether the tone will be as negative as first suggested a month or so ago.
In Australia a mostly quiet week with a scattering of March quarter exploration and production reports from mining companies. The next big result will be the interim results from the ANZ next Tuesday.
