If you’ve followed earnings seasons in the past, you know that the larger companies normally report their results early in the season, and that means we already have had several big-name companies announce results this week.
The companies listed below are among my highest-rated and are expected to post spectacular earnings and sales results for the third quarter of this year.
Baidu
Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is the leading Chinese language search engine in the world. The company has a monopoly, controlling more than 70% of China’s search market. Some people say this company is China’s Google, but Baidu is faring even better since Google’s head in China recently resigned after failing to challenge them.
BIDU earns nearly all of its revenue through online advertising services, but it also operates a network of third-party websites and online communities. The company has made many expansion efforts, such as creating its own online music service, e-reader program and partnerships with some of China’s most well-known video sharing and social media sites.
The Internet giant is scheduled to report earnings Monday, Oct. 17, and is expected to bring in fantastic results. For the current quarter, the analyst community expects 84.4% earnings growth and 83.5% sales growth from the company! BIDU is known for posting solid earnings surprises, so we can expect the figures to look even better once they are announced. This is one stock that will shine bright this earnings season.
UnitedHealth Group
UNH (NYSE:UNH) is a heavy hitter in the health care sector — namely, it’s the largest single health carrier in the United States. It serves more than 75 million people worldwide and is a parent company to six businesses, including UnitedHealth. Its other main branch, Optum, administers everything from mental health and substance-abuse programs to mail-order pharmaceuticals.
On Tuesday, Oct. 18, the health care giant will report its third-quarter earnings. Even with the hard times health care has experienced in recent quarters, UNH still is expected to post a modest 7.4% increase in sales growth. But what I find really fascinating about UNH and its earnings history is how it consistently blows away analysts’ estimates. During the past four quarters, the company has posted impressive double-digit earnings surprises, ranging from 23% to 37%.
What this tells me is that analysts repeatedly underestimate what the company can do, and given the overall cautious attitude of the analyst community, I believe it’s safe to say UNH will hit its earnings estimates out of the park yet again.
Philip Morris International
Philip Morris (NYSE:PM) makes seven of the top 15 brands of tobacco products in the world and sells its cigarettes in 160 countries. Also, the company boasts at least 15% of the international cigarette market outside the U.S. Philip Morris’ top brands include Marlboro (the world’s top-selling cigarette), L&M, Bond Street and Philip Morris. Until 2008, Philip Morris actually was a part of competing tobacco company, Altria Group (NYSE:MO).
I consider PM to be one of my “Old Faithful” blue-chip companies. It has displayed incredible longevity and has risen as a stable, long-term investment opportunity. PM might not boast as big a surprise as some other large-cap stocks during earnings season, but it does consistently beat estimates and show growth where it matters — in both earnings and sales.
When Philip Morris reports earnings Thursday, Oct. 20, analysts are expecting a 24% jump in earnings and a 14.7% hike in sales. During the past month, we’ve seen some analysts raising their estimates for PM’s earnings — a great sign that the company’s report will be a positive one.
