Meta, Apple, Amazon: Earnings Preview 

Meta, Amazon and Apple are due to report their earning results after Wall Street’s closing bell on 1 Feb, 2024. Kyle Rodda, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com previews what to expect from the results and analyses the stock’s technicals.

Meta Platforms is expected to deliver robust earnings growth in Q4, driven by strong advertising revenues across its application suite of products. Earnings-per-share is forecast to rise 179% to $4.90 from a 21% revenue lift to $US 38.1 billion.

The solid topline growth comes amidst resilient consumer activity in several of Meta’s key markets. The multi-year decline in ad pricing is expected to slow down, with revenue growth coming despite what is projected to be only modest increases in daily active users and monthly active users of approximately 3%.

Meta’s capital expenditures are expected to remain under control after surging following the company’s strategic pivot to the Metaverse. Operating margins in Q1 are tipped to be higher than a year earlier and in line with the previous quarter.”

Amazon benefits from strong consumer appetite but lagging AI roll-out could pose risk

“Record revenues are projected from Amazon in Q4, driven by solid advertising sales. The greatest contributor to the topline will remain e-commerce, with the quarter’s results boosted by what’s expected to be a strong holiday sales period, especially in the US.

The markets will be homing in on the performance and guidance of Amazon Web Services. The segment remains Amazon’s major growth driver and arguably remains the leader in its market. However, there’s a growing perception that Amazon is lagging behind its peers on the roll-out of artificial intelligence, which could hamper growth and dull its competitive advantage.”

Weaker Chinese demand to impact Apple’s topline

 
“Weak consumer demand in China is projected to hurt Apple’s revenues, especially in its products division. Regional revenue in China is forecast to drop by 1.7%, with greater competition in that market from domestic players also impacting Apple’s topline. Services revenue is likely to drive Apple’s performance for the quarter, although a drop in fees from a year earlier risks slowing growth in that segment.

Investors will be keeping a lookout for commentary about future consumer demand – not only in China but also in the United States and other developed markets. Another issue could be supply disruptions, chip security, and the outlook for the Apple watch off the back of an ongoing patent dispute about the product’s oximeter feature.”