Universal Display (OLED) Q1 Earnings: What's In The Offing?

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) is set to report first-quarter 2019 results on May 2. Notably, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 14.4%.

Past-Quarter Performance

The company had delivered fourth-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 34 cents.

Revenues had decreased 39.6% to $70.1 million and almost came in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $70 million.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings is pegged at 26 cents per share, unchanged for the last 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues stands at $60.85 million, suggesting an increase of 39.7% from the year-ago reported figure.

Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

Factors at Play

Universal Display’s first-quarter results are expected to benefit from strength in demand across end-markets, comprising smartphones, television, virtual reality (VR) devices and automotive markets.

Notably, OLED technology produces uniform illumination over arbitrary shapes, which makes it very attractive to automobile manufacturers. This is will to lead to increasing adoption of OLED among automotive makers like BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi, which in turn will provide growth opportunities to the company. This is likely to impact first-quarter results.

Moreover,new OLED-based product launches andincreasing capacity of OLED in TV is anticipated to enhance order growth rate, in turn aid the company’s top line in the to-be-reported quarter.

However, uncertain macroeconomic conditions and imposition of tariff owing to trade war between the United States and China remains a headwind. Further, long lead times and volatility in foreign exchange are major concerns. Stiff competition might impact profitability, consequently limiting margin expansion. These factors are likely to have a negative impact on the to-reported quarter’s results.

Furthermore, lower-than-anticipated Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone demand and weakness in overall smartphone market are likely to limit growth prospects in the quarter under review.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP. Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) are best avoided.

Universal Display has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks With Favorable Combination

Here are a couple of stocks worth considering as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to deliver an earnings beat in the upcoming releases.

Square, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) has an Earnings ESP of +5.50% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ameren Corp. (NYSE:AEE) has an Earnings ESP of +3.70% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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