Imagine this –

Once every few months, you’re required to release information detailing your current financial standing. The public can see where you’ve spent money, made money, or even how much you’ve saved.

Sounds scary, right?

That’s just a different way of describing what earnings season is.

So far, this earnings season has turned out better than feared, helping to keep the market afloat following a brutal 2022.

And there have been several big surprises, including those from Netflix (NFLX Quick QuoteNFLX - Free Report) , Meta Platforms (META Quick QuoteMETA - Free Report) , and Uber Technologies (UBER Quick QuoteUBER - Free Report) .

Below is a chart illustrating the year-to-date performance of all three, with the S&P 500 blended in as a benchmark.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Let’s take a closer look at what each company delivered.

Uber Technologies Sets Quarterly Trips Record

Uber posted better-than-expected quarterly results, crushing the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate by 240% and reporting earnings of $0.29 per share.

Uber generated roughly $8.6 billion in revenue throughout the period, surpassing our consensus estimate marginally and growing nearly 50% year-over-year.

There were also other several notable highlights, including –

Gross Bookings totaled $30.7 billion, growing an impressive 19% year-over-year and exceeding our consensus estimate by nearly 0.6%. This is illustrated in the chart below.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Further, total trips throughout Q4 tallied 2.1 billion, representing a quarterly record and growing nearly 20% year-over-year. In addition, the total beat our consensus estimate by roughly 1.5%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

And to top it off, Uber posted adjusted EBITDA of $665 million, growing $579 million from the year-ago quarter.

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, on the results, “We ended 2022 with our strongest quarter ever, with robust demand and record margins,” He continued, “Our outlook for a Gross Bookings and Adjusted EBITDA step up in Q1 builds on that progress, and sets us up for yet another record year."

Netflix Crushes Subscriber Estimates

Netflix reported mixed top and bottom line results, falling short of the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate by roughly 75%.

Quarterly revenue totaled $7.8 billion, modestly ahead of estimates and growing 2% year-over-year.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

However, the focus point of the entire release remained the company’s Net Subscriber Additions.

Results came in well above expectations; Netflix reported Net Subscriber Adds of roughly 7.7 million, handily beating our consensus estimate of 4.5 million by nearly 70%.

It represented the company’s third consecutive quarter exceeding our consensus estimate for Net Subscriber Additions, undoubtedly a major positive.

Net Subscriber Additions Surprise %

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The market cheered on the better-than-expected Subscriber Additions, with Netflix shares climbing nearly 9% the following trading session.

Meta Platforms Cuts Expenses

The market was impressed with META’s quarterly report, with the company exceeding the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate by more than 40%.

In addition, quarterly revenue tallied $32.2 billion, again exceeding expectations by roughly 3%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Of course, there were also some key developments, including –

The company unveiled a massive $40 billion share buyback program to increase shareholder value.

Most importantly, the company revealed some cost-cutting measures. As many are aware, investors were critical of META’s capital expenditures (CapEx), especially during a challenging 2022 business environment.

Nonetheless, the company expects full-year 2023 total expenses in a range of $89 billion – $95 billion, down from prior views of $94 billion – $100 billion.

Further, META expects CapEx in a range of $30 billion – $33 billion for full-year 2023, again down from prior expectations of $34 billion – $37 billion.

Bottom Line

Earnings season continues to chug along, with many companies reporting daily.

And in the coming weeks, just as many are slated to do the same.

Several companies, including Netflix (NFLX Quick QuoteNFLX - Free Report) , Meta Platforms (META Quick QuoteMETA - Free Report) , and Uber Technologies (UBER Quick QuoteUBER - Free Report) , have stolen the show so far, reporting results that had investors celebrating.