Looking Ahead of Wall Street: MSFT, AAPL, FB, GOOGL, AMZN

By Carly Forster

Wall Street has an exciting week ahead as big name technology stocks are scheduled to announce earnings. Many are pegging this as “The Super Bowl of Tech Earnings.”

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT):

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is scheduled to announce its second quarter fiscal 2015 earnings report on Monday, January 26th after market close. The company is expected to post earnings of $0.71 per share, down from $0.78 earnings per share the same quarter last year. Analysts are also expecting the company to post $26.33 billion in revenue, a 7.4% year-over-year increase.

Microsoft’s transition from a software company to a cloud based business will be a major focus in the company’s Q2 earnings report. Specifically, investors will be looking for growth in Big Data, mobility and the cloud.

Investors will also be looking for a revenue update from mobile devices and tablet devices and to gauge whether these devices are gaining traction among users.

In addition, investors will be looking for an update on the Windows Operating System (OS) as it is the company’s third largest division. Specifically, investors will to pay close attention to the number of Windows licenses sold in both desktop and mobile verticals and for an update on Microsoft's next OS; Windows 10.

On average, the top analyst consensus for Microsoft on TipRanks is Hold.



Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL):

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is set to announce its first quarter fiscal 2015 earnings report on Tuesday, January 27th after market close. The Company is expected to post $2.58 earnings per share, up from $2.07 earnings per share the same quarter last year. Analysts also expect the company to post $67.3 billion in sales, marking a 17% increase from the same quarter a year prior.

This past holiday season was exceptional for Apple and is expected to be a big contributor in the company’s overall annual sales and profits in its Q1 earnings. Apple’s iPhones attribute to more than half of the company’s sales, thus the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will likely play a major role in evaluating demand for the company's latest smartphone devices.

Last quarter, Apple reported 39.27 million iPhone units sold, marking 16% increase from the same quarter a year prior. This quarter, analysts are expecting the company to report 66.5 million iPhone units sold, marking a 30.4% increase year-over-year. Investors will also be looking for an update on demand trends for the iPhone going forward.

Apple has produced more than $50 billion in free cash flow through the year ended in September, marking a major return driver for Apple investors. In the same quarter last year, Apple increased dividends by 8%, so investors will be looking to see if the company will announce a raise in dividends in Q1.

On average, the top analyst consensus for Apple on TipRanks is Moderate Buy.



Facebook (NASDAQ: FB):

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is set to announce its fourth quarter and full year 2014 earnings report on Wednesday, January 28th after market close. The company is expected to post earnings of $0.33 per share, up from $0.20 per share the same quarter last year. Analysts also expect the company to post revenue of $3.78 billion, marking a 46% increase on a year-over-year basis.

Facebook had quite a successful 2014 with its stock up more than 30% over the past 12 months. With that said, management expects revenue growth to slow down and expenses to rise in the fourth quarter.

One of the main growth drivers of Facebook’s revenue in the quarter is expected to come from mobile ads. Specifically, investors will want an update on the connection between ad impressions and prices.

Investors should also look for an update on user growth as the relationship between monthly and daily active users is important when comparing user engagement and interest in the platform. In addition to higher engagement levels, investors will be looking to see if there will be an increase in revenue per user.

Lastly, investors should seek updates on Facebook’s acquired companies like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus.
On average, the top analyst consensus for Facebook on TipRanks is Strong Buy.



Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL):

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is expected to announce its fourth quarter fiscal 2014 earnings report on Thursday, January 29th after market close. The company is expected to post earnings of $5.86 a share, up from $4.96 a share the same quarter a year prior. Google is also expected to post revenue of $18.5 billion, marking a 9.5% year-over-year increase.

Google did not have the best year in 2014, having fallen short of earnings expectations for four consecutive quarters. Google has been struggling to monetize from its Android users and has seen increased online ad competition from Facebook and Twitter. Shares have dropped 15% over the past six months as a result.

However, it is being speculated that Google could end up with over $80 billion in cash and marketable securities by the end of 2015, thus beginning a new dividend plan for investors.

On average, the top analyst consensus for Google on TipRanks is Moderate Buy.



Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN):

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is scheduled to announce its fourth quarter 2014 earnings report on Thursday, January 29th after market close. The company is expected to post $0.22 earnings per share, down from $0.51 earnings per share the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Amazon will post $29.7 billion in revenue.

Amazon had a record breaking holiday season; reporting more than 10 million new customers tried Amazon Prime. Thus, the prime ecosystem will be a main focus in the company’s earnings.

Investors will be looking for an update on the building of Amazon Prime’s ecosystem with a focus on expedited delivery and adding services around e-commerce such as video content, grocery, cloud storage, and perhaps cheap hardware.
Investors will also be looking for an update on AWS as competition continues to increase, though it still has a significant lead over rivals in the cloud computing space.

On average, the top analyst consensus for Amazon is Strong Buy.



Investors will surely be on the edge of their seats in anticipation of some of the biggest stocks releasing earnings. How will these stocks ultimately be affected?