By Ben Fox Rubin
Many top tech companies and energy firms are set to report
quarterly results next week, with particular attention going to
Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) holiday sales.
The initial public offering market will include a handful of
smaller debuts. Resort company Intrawest Resorts Holdings should be
one of the bigger offerings.
Big Week for Tech Stocks
Apple Inc. (AAPL) reports Monday, with market hopes that the
company can snap a streak of earnings declines that have lasted
three straight quarters.
The tech firm's stock has been on the rebound in the past year,
after tumbling from an all-time high of just above $700 in 2012,
when it captured the record of the largest U.S. company ever, as
measured by market value.
Apple has come against stiff competition in the smartphone
market, especially from Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNHZ), while
rivals chipping away at its lead in tablets. The company also faces
criticism from activist investor Carl Icahn, who has been building
up his stake in Apple and pressuring it to raise its stock buyback
plans as a way of utilizing some of its $150 billion cash pile.
This week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is
considering coming out with an iPhone model with a larger screen
later this year, in an effort to better compete against some
popular bigger-screen smartphones produced by its rivals.
Other major tech and Internet firms reporting next week include
Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), Facebook Inc. (FB), Google Inc. (GOOG) and
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN).
Top Energy Firms to Report
Energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) has been ailing from big
bets that haven't panned out, including its $25 billion acquisition
of XTO Energy Inc. in June 2010. The deal made Exxon America's
biggest natural-gas producer just before prices for the fuel
plunged.
The company has since dialed back drilling for natural gas in
the U.S., with its global gas production in the third quarter
falling to the lowest level since it bought XTO. Those volumes have
been replaced with barrels of oil and liquids derived from natural
gas like propane, which sell for higher prices.
Analysts, on average, predict Exxon's fourth-quarter earnings to
drop. It reports Thursday.
Energy producers ConocoPhillips (COP), Hess Corp. (HES), Chevron
Corp. (CVX) and National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) also are
scheduled to report next week.
Consumer Goods, Healthcare, Card Companies and More
Among many big names reporting next week are payment networks
Visa Inc. (V) and Mastercard Inc. (MA), consumer goods companies
Hershey Co. (HSY) and Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL), and healthcare
firms Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) and AbbVie Inc. (ABBV).
They will be joined by Ford Motor Co. (F), AT&T Inc. (T),
Viacom Inc. (VIA) and Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG), among many
others.
Group of Smaller IPOs Planned
A handful of smaller initial public offerings are slated for
next week, including sport boat maker Malibu Boats Inc. and
biopharmaceutical Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., which focuses on
potential treatments of rare and ultra-rare diseases.
Also, Intrawest Resorts Holdings, a mountain resort and
adventure company backed by Fortress Investment Group L.L.C. (FIG)
, seeks to raise up to $100 million through a listing on the New
York Stock Exchange.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@wsj.com
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