By Wallace Witkowski, MarketWatch
Heading into another peak earnings week, Apple Inc., energy, and
health care company earnings are set to dominate.
Stocks finished the past week higher
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-google-amazon-poised-to-lead-nasdaq-to-another-record-2015-04-24)
following a mixed bag of earnings reports where the stronger dollar
was blamed for weakness
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-is-the-demon-this-earnings-season-2015-04-23).
For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) finished up
1.4%, the S&P 500 index (SPX) advanced 1.8%, and the Nasdaq
Composite Index (RIXF) rallied 3.3%.
Five Dow components report this week, with the biggest on
Monday: Apple (AAPL). Here's what to look for in Apple earnings
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-watch-for-in-apples-earnings-2015-04-23).
With preorders for the Apple Watch starting after the close of
the March-ended quarter, those sales won't be reflected in the
current report. But Apple could always give a sneak peek into how
initial sales went for the current quarter.
The consumer tech giant is expected to buoy earnings growth for
the tech sector. With Apple's contribution, earnings for the sector
is expected to grow 0.7%. Without Apple, earnings for the sector
are expected to decline by 5.1%, according to John Butters, senior
earnings analyst for FactSet.
Other Dow components reporting this week include Pfizer
Inc.(PFE) and Merck & Co.(MRK) on Tuesday, along with
ExxonMobil Corp.(XOM) and Visa Inc.(V) on Thursday.
In addition, about a third of the companies on the S&P 500
report this week. While nearly three out of four S&P 500
companies that have already reported have topped fairly low
earnings expectations, only 47% have reported revenue above the
Wall Street consensus, well below the five-year average of 58%,
according to FactSet data.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to wrap up its two-day Federal
Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday. Other possible
non-earnings catalysts include the Institute for Supply Management
manufacturing index for April as well as U.S. car sales on
Friday.
Notable earnings reports this week
Report Date Company (FactSet EPS / Revenue estimate)
Mon., April 27 Apple ($2.15 / $55.93 billion)
Tues., April 28 Pfizer (49 cents / $10.73 billion)Merck (74 cents / $9.04 billion)Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. US:BMY (51 cents / $3.81 billion)Ford Motor Co. US:F (26 cents / $34.27 billion)Twitter Inc. US:TWTR (4 cents / $455.9 million) United Parcel Service Inc. US:UPS ($1.09 / $14.27 billion)Express Scripts Holding Co. US:ESRX ($1.10 / $24.33 billion)
Weds., April 29 Time Warner Inc. US:TWX ($1.09 / $6.99 billion)MasterCard Inc. US:MA (80 cents / $2.29 billion)Mondelez International Inc. US:MDLZ (38 cents / $7.77 billion)
Thurs., April 30 ExxonMobil (82 cents / $51.7 billion)Visa (62 cents / $3.34 billion)ConocoPhillips US:COP (loss-per-share of 13 cents / $9.27 billion) Gilead Sciences Inc. US:GILD ($2.31 / $6.86 billion)Viacom Inc. US:VIAB ($1.07 / $3.25 billion)Time Warner Cable Inc. US:TWC ($1.88 / $5.83 billion)
Fri., May 1 Chevron Corp. US:CVX (79 cents / $26.4 billion)CVS Health Corp. US:CVS ($1.08 / $35.93 billion)Duke Energy Corp. US:DUK ($1.12 / $6.26 billion)
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