Wall Street is in the thick of earnings season with facebook Inc. (FB), Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD), Twitter Inc. (TWTR), and linkedin Corp. (LNKD) all scheduled to report earnings this week. Here's what investors need to know before earnings are posted.
Facebook:
Social media giant Facebook will post second quarter earnings on Wednesday, July 29, after market close. Analysts estimate that the company will post $0.47 earnings per share on $3.97 billion in revenue, marking potential year-over-year increases of 12% and 35%, respectively.
Although these figures are impressive, they mark decelerating growth from Facebook's last reports. If analyst estimates are correct, Facebook's upcoming report will mark the fifth quarter of decelerating growth. Analysts hope to see an increase in monthly active users, or MAUs, to combat the decelerating trends.
Analysts and investors are also looking for increased growth in online and mobile advertising. Last quarter saw a significant jump in mobile advertising, and analysts are wondering if this trend will continue. Although Facebook is a popular advertising for small and mid-size businesses, Facebook is hoping to attract large businesses to advertise with its 30-second videos.
Furthermore, Facebook is still in the processing of monetizing Instagram, its photo sharing social media platform, and investors are eager for this unlocked potential. Facebook investors are anticipating shares reaching $100 per share in the near future as the stock currently hovers around $96.
Out of the 21 analysts polled by TipRanks in the last 3 months, 20 are bullish on Facebook and 1 is neutral. The average 12-month price target on the stock is $101.95, marking a 5% potential upside from where the stock last closed.
Gilead Sciences:
Gilead Sciences will release second quarter earnings on Tuesday, July 28, after market close. Analysts estimate that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of $2.70 on $7.61 billion in revenue, up from $2.36 earnings per share on $6.53 billion in revenue from the same quarter of last year.
