Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM): Salesforce has been in the limelight in recent quarters despite not making any groundbreaking acquisitions or releasing an unprecedented product. Many rumors point to Salesforce as the next company to make a large acquisition. This comes months after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) swooped in to purchase LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) and bolster its CRM services. Salesforce now seems to be in need of its own acquisition to reinforce its position in the CRM market. Fortunately financial performance hasn’t started to lag yet as it typically does with high-growth tech companies. Greater adoption of cloud based solutions along with higher demand for its marketing cloud and customer platforms should continue to drive top line growth. Meanwhile, many smaller acquisitions throughout the year are expected to result in near-term synergies and help drive long-term growth. Salesforce doesn’t appear to be lacking in growth opportunities but is starting to see considerable pressure from heavy hitters like Microsoft and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL).
Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU): Intuit’s recent success has been driven by increasing demand and subscriptions for its suite of cloud-computing software. Intuit has successfully transitioned away from its licensed-based service toward cloud-focused services. INTU currently reports two core segments: small business and consumer and professional tax. Increasing adoption of cloud-based services and products are expected to carry growth moving forward. Moreover, a greater focus on the QuickBooks brand will likely pressure near-term margins but lead to substantial long term benefits. This includes the recent launch of QuickBooks financing, similar to Square (NYSE:SQ) Capital, which connects lenders and borrowers in a seamless fashion.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT): Applied Materials has been a standout in the semiconductor industry thanks to greater adoption of its products that service large TV screens and mobile displays. Shares are up over 60% in 2016 on equally impressive fundamental growth. In its fiscal third-quarter earnings grew 52% on a 13% increase in sales. The best part of the report was management raised guidance and insisted that growth should continue at its current pace for the foreseeable future. Developing trends in mobile, video and wearable technologies are all fueling financial performance and don’t appear to be waning anytime soon. That said, expectations are likely to be unreasonably higher for the upcoming report, where even the smallest miss or sign of waning growth could send the stock into a tailspin.
Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM): A broad shift toward discounters and value channels can be largely credited to William-Sonoma’s downturn. The company’s namesake brand, West Elm and Pottery Barn all cater to high-end customers. This simply isn’t translating in the current economic environment. The stock is down nearly 12% year to date on a number of sluggish earnings report. The broader housing recovery and surge in the retail space should jump start growth prospects whether it’s this quarter or in the future. Meanwhile, new initiatives and partnerships like the one with Sun Basket, which offers a similar service to Blue Apron, are expected to increase exposure and drive sales. Overall the company is still in a position of weakness given consumers propensity for value.
Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST): Ross is committed to boosting financial performance through greater operational efficiency and strategic merchandising assortments. The retailer remains particularly committed to improving its ladies apparel business, which struggled in the spring and summer months. Analysts are relatively optimistic that Ross Stores can deliver a strong quarter despite macroeconomic uncertainty and ongoing challenges in the retail space.
How do you think these names will report?