Wednesday, February 8, 2017

A slew of new Q4 earnings reports hit the tape this morning, covering a wide range of industries from pharma to airlines to media. Included among these are some buy-rated companies, according to our trusted Zacks Rank, including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK Quick QuoteGSK - Free Report) , Alaska Airlines (ALK Quick QuoteALK - Free Report) and Time Warner .

In Glaxo’s case, the London-based Big Pharma staple outperformed expectations on top and bottom lines on strength in vaccines, HIV treatments and a weaker British pound. The Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company with a Style Score of A established full-year guidance of 5-7%, despite some concerns about generic drugs taking some market share.

Zacks Rank #2 Time Warner posted earnings up 18% from a year ago and 6 cents per share above the Zacks consensus estimate, to $1.25 per share. Quarterly revenues of $7.89 billion also topped estimates and rose 11% year over year, largely based on strong content offerings from its HBO and Warner Brothers segments. The company had accepted a buyout offer from AT&T (T Quick QuoteT - Free Report) , but this deal may be subject to scrutiny both from regulatory bodies and President Trump himself.

For more information on Time Warner’s earnings, click here.

Alaska Air also put up a beat on both top and bottom lines, with $1.56 per share and $1.52 billion in sales beating the $1.41 and $1.43 billion expected. The regional airline — which completed its purchase of Virgin America nearly two months ago — routinely beats earnings estimates (it has not missed in at least the last 5 quarters), and increased its dividend yield 9%. This stock is also a Zacks Rank #2.

For more information on Alaska Air’s earnings, click here.

After the bell today, we will see earnings results from Yum! Brands (YUM Quick QuoteYUM - Free Report) and Whole Foods Market . Both companies currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

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