Back to top

Image: Bigstock

FedEx, NIKE, Costco Wholesale, Micron Technology, Walgreens Boots Alliance, McCormick & Co, Lululemon and JPMorgan are part of Zacks Earnings Preview

Read MoreHide Full Article

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – March 29, 2021 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes FedEx Corporation (FDX - Free Report) , NIKE, Inc. (NKE - Free Report) , Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) , Micron Technology, Inc. (MU - Free Report) , Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA - Free Report) , McCormick & Company, Incorporated (MKC - Free Report) , Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU - Free Report) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) .

A Very Strong Q1 and 2021 Earnings Picture

We started seeing a positive shift in the overall earnings picture in July last year when estimates started rising again after the sharp Covid-driven cuts.

This improving trend in estimate revisions remained in place over the following months and actually accelerated over the last few months.

The expectation is for total S&P 500 earnings to increase +19.8% in Q1 from the same period last year on +5.4% higher revenues. Today's +19.8% earnings growth rate is up from +19.4% last week.

Part of the strong growth in Q1 is reflective of easy comparisons, as the last month of 2020 Q1 was weighed down by the pandemic, though the full impact showed up in Q2. Those easy comparisons are notable for the Finance, Consumer Discretionary, Transportation and Energy sectors. Profitability in these sectors is notably above the Covid-hit levels of the year-earlier period, but they are still below the comparable period in 2019 (2019 Q1).

But it isn't just easy comparisons that is giving us the strong aggregate growth in 2021 Q1. A number of sectors, including the all-important Technology sector, are on track to produce genuine growth, i.e., 2021 Q1 profitability growth above pre-Covid levels. These include, in addition to Technology (+27% above 2019 Q1 level), Construction (+55.1%), Medical (+27.2%), Basic Materials (+12.8%), Consumer Staples (+10.7%) and Utilities (+9.7%).

The Finance sector is benefiting from easy comparisons to the year-earlier period, but 2021 Q1 earnings are expected to be only -1.3% below the 2019 Q1 level.

Earnings Season Never Ends

The Q1 earnings season will really get going when the big banks come out with their March-quarter results on April 14th. But not all companies have fiscal quarters that correspond 'cleanly' with the calendar periods.

For example, there are almost two dozen S&P 500 members that have fiscal quarters that ended in February and 12 such companies, including FedEx, Nike, Costco

 and others have reported their fiscal February-ending quarterly results already.

We and other data aggregators club the results from these 12 index members as part of our 2021 Q1 tally. We have another 5 S&P 500 members on deck to report fiscal February-quarter results this week, including Micron Technology, Walgreens Boots Alliance, McCormick and others. Lululemon is also reporting this week, though it's not in the S&P 500 index.

Looked at this way, we will have counted almost two dozen such 2021 Q1 results before JPMorgan reports its quarterly results on April 14th.

2021 earnings and revenues are expected to be up +24.3% and +8.2%, respectively, which follows the Covid-driven decline of -13% in 2020.

On an index 'EPS' basis, the 2021 expectation works out to $169.35, up from $136.27 per 'Index share' in 2020.

These full-year estimates have been going up as well.

We envision this favorable revision trend to accelerate over the next few months as the vaccination effort reaches a critical mass and greater 'normalcy' returns to life.

For a detailed look at the overall earnings picture, including expectations for the coming periods, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report >>>>Q1 and 2021 Earnings Estimates Keep Going Up

Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it's poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.

Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>

Join us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

https://www.zacks.com

Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Published in