Earnings Previews: Lowe’s, Zim Integrated Shipping

Friday morning, the Dow Jones industrials were trading up 0.15% and the S&P 500 traded up 0.22%, but the Nasdaq traded 0.02% lower.

After U.S. markets closed on Thursday, Applied Materials reported better-than-expected earnings per share (EPS) and revenue. The company also issued current quarter guidance that was in line with estimates, but a note from KeyBanc analysts Friday morning sees added risk for new investors. Shares traded down 2.6%.

Before U.S. markets opened on Friday, Deere reported solidly beating consensus estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Shares traded up 4.4%.

Foot Locker missed both top-line and bottom-line estimates and issued downside guidance. Shares were pummeled. Same-store sales fell by 9.1%. The company also lowered guidance for fiscal 2024 same-store sales from a previous range of down 3.5% to 5.5% to a new, lower range of down 7.5% to 9.0%. The stock traded down 27.4%.

Catalent was supposed to report results Friday morning after postponing two earlier delays. Instead, Catalent will delay its report again, and the clock began ticking on Monday on a six-month deadline to regain compliance with New York Stock Exchange listing rules. Shares traded up 12.4%.

Here is a look at what to expect when the following two companies report quarterly results on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Lowe’s

Over the past 12 months, the share price of Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) has increased by more than 13%. Since hitting a 52-week high in February, however, the shares dropped by 6.3%. Since rival Home Depot posted a weak report earlier this week, shares of Lowe’s have added 4%, while Home Depot has managed to add 3.8%. Investors will want to hear (and see profits to back up the talk) about the inroads Lowe’s has made in its professional contractor segment. The company reports results early Tuesday.

Of 34 analysts covering the stock, 20 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating. Another 13 rate it at Hold. At a recent price of around $207.00 a share, the upside potential to a median price target of $228.00 is 10.1%. At the high price target of $300.00, the upside potential is 31%.

Fiscal first-quarter revenue is forecast at $221.78 billion, which would be down 2.9% sequentially and by 7.9% year over year. Adjusted EPS are expected to come in at $3.47, up 52.2% sequentially but down 1.1% year over year. For the full 2024 fiscal year ending next January, analysts expect EPS of $13.66, down 0.5%, on sales of $88.62 billion, down 8.7%.

Lowe’s stock trades at 15.2 times expected 2024 EPS, 13.8 times estimated 2025 earnings of $14.99 and 12.3 times estimated 2026 earnings of $16.88 per share. Its 52-week range trading is $170.12 to $223.31, and the company pays an annual dividend of $4.20 (yield of 2.03%). Total shareholder return for the past year is 15.09%.

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