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Q3 Earnings Bonanza: Under Armour Way Up, GE Way Down

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Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Amid this Q3 earnings season, we also see fresh jobs numbers out for October beginning tomorrow with the ADP (ADP - Free Report) private-sector employment report and Friday’s all-important non-farm payrolls. These numbers come about as early as could be expected, with the ADP figures to be released on the final day of the month on which it’s reporting.

And, as economic growth has gotten more and more reliant on consumer spending, after the opening bell sounds today, we’ll get a new read on the Consumer Confidence Index for October. Expectations are for a slight dip following September’s strong 138.4. We also expect a new Home Ownership report, though these numbers — currently at just below 2/3 (64.3% in Q2) — have been lagging somewhat, with home prices staying elevated in many regions around the country, as well as mortgage rates climbing with higher interest rate levels.

But right now, in the moment, Q3 earnings reports are hitting the tape at a strong pace. After the closing bell this afternoon we’ll see new releases from Facebook and eBay (EBAY - Free Report) , among others, but this morning we still have plenty of numbers to ruminate over.

General Electric (GE - Free Report) surprised investors to the downside this morning, posting 14 cents per share that missed the Zacks estimate by a touchdown (and extra point). This is also well down from the 29 cents per share reported in the year-ago quarter, but clearly this is a company in flux. Revenues of $29.57 billion in the quarter missed by a full percentage point.

For GE, it’s the third earnings miss in the past five quarters. This quarter was particularly challenging, as a changing of the guard at the CEO position — from John Flannery to Larry Culp —  and struggles within the companies Power segment weighed down on performance. GE also cut its dividend yield from 12 cents per share to a penny. The stock, which was trading north of $20 per share a year ago, is down another 5.6% in today’s pre-market. For more on GE’s earnings, click here.

Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rated BP plc (BP - Free Report) easily outperformed earnings estimates for its Q3, posting $1.15 per share from the 86 cents of the Zacks consensus, on revenues of $80.8 billion of the quarter. Even more impressive, the year-ago figure for earnings was a mere 57 cents per share, a testament to firming oil prices around the world. The company reported expenditures of $2.9 billion related to an oil spill, but this is BP’s third straight beat, and seventh in the last 10 quarters. For more on BP’s earnings, click here.

Coca Cola (KO - Free Report) also hit the tape with Q3 earnings results this morning, beating estimates by 3 cents to 58 cents per share, on revenues of $8.25 billion that narrowly beat the Zacks consensus. This makes six straight beats for Coke, though pre-market futures — in another challenging market in the red — are down nearly a full percentage point. Year over year, KO shares are roughly flat. For more on KO’s earnings, click here.

The best earnings report we’ve seen this morning came from Under Armour (UAA - Free Report) , with 25 cents per share more than doubling the 12 cents expected. Sales of $1.44 billion beat expectations by 2.5% in the quarter for the Zacks Rank #2 company. It’s the third-straight beat for UAA, and though shares are +26% year to date, they are up another 17% in today’s pre-market. For more on UAA’s earnings, click here.

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

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