Upcoming Earnings Reports To Watch: YUMC, PEP, COST

Q3 earnings season won't really heat up for another few weeks, but we've already begun to see the first trickle of reports—and several key companies will release reports in the upcoming week.

According to the most recent available data, total Q3 earnings for the S&P 500 index are expected to gain about 3.2% year-over-year, with revenues gaining about 5%. Overall estimates have gone down throughout the quarter, but the number of negative revisions compares favorably to other recent quarters.

For more on what investors should expect from Q3 earnings, check out our exclusive Earnings Trends report. This full report includes a plethora of key historical results, as well as estimates for the current and upcoming periods.

As earnings season gets underway, investors should also remember that they can always use the Zacks Earnings Calendar to plan out their schedules for earnings, dividend announcements, and other important financial releases. This handy tool is your perfect one-stop-shop to properly prepare for the market events that will have an impact on your own portfolio.

And today, we’ve made that task even easier for you. Using the Earnings Calendar, we looked ahead to next week and selected the biggest reports to watch. Make sure to keep an eye on these companies as they prepare to report during the week of October 2.

1. PepsiCo ( (NYSE:PEP) )

Food and beverage behemoth PepsiCo is scheduled to announce its third-quarter financial results before the market opens on October 4. PepsiCo basically always surpasses earnings estimates, but the stock has slumped recently and is now up just above 7% year-to-date. Growing health awareness has hurt sales in the CSD category, so it will be interesting to see the company's segment results this quarter.

Currently, PEP has a positive Earnings ESP of 2.03%, which implies that analyst sentiment has improved recently. Our current Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $1.42 per share and revenues of $16.42 billion. These results would represent year-over-year growth of 1.5% and 2.4%, respectively.

2. Yum China Holdings ( (NYSE:YUMC) )

Yum China Holdings, a licensee of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) restaurants in mainland China, will report its third-quarter earnings results after the market closes on October 5. Shares of Yum China have skyrocketed more than 50% this year, and the stock's “A” grade in the Growth category of our Style Scores system underscores its expansion story.

Nevertheless, things are looking a little more challenging heading into the Q3 report. YUMC is currently sporting a negative Earnings ESP of 1.82%, which indicates that analyst sentiment has softened as we approach the report date. Based on current consensus estimates, we expect to see the company post earnings of 55 cents per share and revenues of $1.98 billion.

3. Costco (NASDAQ:COST)

Merchandise wholesaler and grocery giant Costco is set to announce its fiscal fourth quarter earnings results after the closing bell on October 5. Costco releases monthly sales results during the quarter, so we already know that August marked 10% revenue growth, so investors will hope that the company was able to continue that trend in September. Shares of COST have popped more than 7% over the past month.

Heading into the report, Costco is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). However, its slightly negative Earnings ESP reduces the predictive power of this formula. Still, our current consensus estimates are calling for earnings growth of 13.8% and sales growth of 14.2%.

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