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Buy 5 Technology Stocks Set to Beat on Q2 Earnings This Week

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Coronavirus-stricken second-quarter earnings results so far are rather disappointing — just as expected. Nevertheless, market participants will closely watch earnings results this week as a number of technology behemoths are slated to report.

Aside from these big-tech brothers, several important companies from this sector will also report results this week. A few of them, with a favorable Zacks Rank, are poised to beat earnings estimates.  

Tech Sector Versus Broad-Market Q2 Earnings Expectations

As of Jul 24, overall, second-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 Index are projected to be down 42.9% year over year on 9.6% lower revenues. However, for the technology sector, second-quarter earnings are expected to be down 10.9% year over year on 0.3% higher revenues.

Notably, first-quarter earnings of companies on the S&P 500 Index were down 13.5% on 1.4% higher revenues. Despite this, total earnings of the technology sector as a whole grew 3.8% year over year on 4.2% higher revenues.

Technology Sector in Q2

The technology sector managed to maintain its foothold in the second quarter in spite of coronavirus-related uncertainties. This is largely due to a series of breakthroughs in cloud computing, predictive analysis, AI, self-driving vehicles, digital personal assistants and IoT, over the last few years that have set the stage for robust growth for its stocks. Large-scale commercial deployment of 5G wireless network has also boosted the overall technology sector.

Meanwhile, the outbreak of coronavirus globally has established digitization as the new normal for what is being touted as going to be a very long time. And as social distancing is keeping near and dear ones away, people, especially citizens of emerging and less-developed countries, are reaching out more than ever with smartphones, tablets or notebooks.

The result of these positive developments reflected in stock markets. The S&P 500 Index —popularly known as Wall Street's benchmark — rallied 20% in second-quarter 2020 while the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), one of the 11 broad sectors of the S&P 500 Index, jumped 30.4%. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite also climbed 30.5%.

Our Top Picks  

We have narrowed down our search to five technology stocks slated to release second-quarter earnings this week. Each of these stocks carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and has a positive Earnings ESP. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Our research shows that for stocks with the combination of a Zacks Rank #3 or better and a positive Earnings ESP, the chance of an earnings beat is as high as 70%. These stocks are expected to soar after earnings release. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the last quarter.

 

Fortive Corp. (FTV - Free Report) designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services professional and engineered products, software and services worldwide. It is primarily focused on industrial technology and professional instrumentation solutions. The company has an Earnings ESP of +4.87%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fortive's current-year earnings has improved 1.8% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 2.5%, on average. The company is set to release earnings results on Jul 28, after the closing bell.

PerkinElmer Inc. provides products, services, and solutions to the diagnostics, life sciences, and applied services markets worldwide. It operates in two segments, Discovery & Analytical Solutions and Diagnostics. The company has an Earnings ESP of +22.13%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PerkinElmer's current-year earnings has improved 5.3% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12.2%, on average. The company is set to release earnings results on Jul 28, after the closing bell.

Generac Holdings Inc. (GNRC - Free Report) designs, manufactures, and sells power generation equipment, energy storage systems, and other power products for the residential and light commercial and industrial markets worldwide. The company has an Earnings ESP of +9.14%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Generac Holdings' current-year earnings has improved 1.4% over the last 7 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12%, on average. The company is set to release earnings results on Jul 30, before the opening bell.

Carrier Global  Corp. (CARR - Free Report) is a provider of heating, ventilating and air conditioning, refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies. It operates through three segments: HVAC, Refrigeration and Fire & Security. The company has an Earnings ESP of +20%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Carrier Global's  current-year earnings has improved 2.2% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 84.2%, on average. The company is set to release earnings results on Jul 30, before the opening bell.

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (MTD - Free Report) manufactures and supplies precision instruments and services worldwide. It operates in five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. The company has an Earnings ESP of +3.51%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mettler-Toledo's current-year earnings has improved 0.6% over the last 7 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1%, on average. The company is set to release earnings results on Jul 30, after the closing bell.

These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.

Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.

See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>

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