Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) is a public multinational conglomerate with its headquarters in California. The company is known for its presence across multiple sectors, including search engine technology, cloud computing, online advertising technologies, software, hardware and more. Alphabet Inc.’s operations are divided into daily operations managed by Google LLC and other related entities that generate higher long-term profits through investments in disruptive technology.
The Zacks Earnings Preview for Alphabet covers the expectations of the market for Alphabet’s upcoming earnings report and also provides a comparison between Alphabet’s performance versus Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (MTP), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN). By understanding what analysts are anticipating for each of these companies over the same period of time can provide investors insight into the performance that can be expected from each company going forward.
This Zacks Earnings Preview will include key items such as earnings estimates by analysts and actual results reported in previous reports, as well as potential catalysts to watch out for during Alphabet’s earnings season. Additionally, an outlook will also be provided on how investors should position themselves during this coming quarterly release.
Alphabet
Alphabet, the parent of Google, is one of the largest technology companies in the world. Alphabet has seen immense success with its search engine, email services, and cloud computing, as well as its expansive array of other products such as YouTube, Android, and its growing digital advertising empire.
In this article, we will take a look at Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon to see what to expect from their earnings reports.
Alphabet Inc. is a collection of companies that offer Internet-related services, products, and platforms. Alphabet was formed as the parent company of Google in 2015 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California. In 2019, Alphabet became the second most valuable publicly traded company worldwide by holding more than $1 trillion in market capitalization.
Under the Alphabet umbrella are a number of products and services, such as Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Drive, Chrome browser and hardware such as Chromecast streaming devices, Nest security systems and Pixel smartphones. Other businesses under the Alphabet umbrella include Calico life sciences which researches ways to extend the human lifespan through biotechnology; Makani airborne wind energy which develops wind power generation systems from aircraft; Google X research lab which focuses on ideas such as driverless cars through its Self-driving car project; Verily health science research venture focused on medical diagnostics technology; Waymo automated driving software; GV venture capital outfit formerly known as Google Ventures; DeepMind artificial intelligence research arm acquired by Google in 2014; CapitalG private equity firm formerly known as Google Capital and Access (formerly Sidewalk Labs) which specializes in developing urban infrastructure related to mobility outputs such as bike-share programs across cities.
Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon Technologies Inc. are all included in Zack’s Earnings Preview to provide insight into their latest financial reports along with analysis of each company’s valuation metric performance relative to others in its sector or industry segment. Zack’s Earnings Preview uses financial metrics like operating margins (EBITDA/Revenue), free cash flow (FCF/Revenue) performance trend over time for each of these five tech giants helps investors evaluate ratios alongside other peer companies when deciding how best to invest their capital in this highly competitive technology space.
Financial Performance
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) reports earnings on 7/27/2020 after market close. The report will be for the fiscal quarter ending Jun 2020. According to Zacks Investment Research, based on 3 analysts’ forecasts, the consensus EPS forecast for the quarter is $11.30. The reported EPS for the same quarter last year was $10.12.
Alphabet Inc.’s performance over a period of time against Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (APPL), Amazon (AMZN) and other Metacapital Platforms has seen significant improvement with its market capitalization increasing significantly from $377 billion to $584 billion over the same period of time, making it a key player in global tech marketspace as well as in providing useful services and products to consumers around the globe.
Alphabet has increased its revenue annually by 9%, with operating cash flow reaching 13% of sales over three years, while maintaining its FF&E turnover ratio at 2 or better over five years. Return on Equity reached 11-17% and Return on Assets ranged between 8-13%. Operating margins have ranged from 19-24% over 5 years while Debt to Equity hovers around 0%. Additionally at 7/23/2020, Short Interest was 2114K shares announced by FINRA and Piotroski F-Score was 6 out of 9. All these factors offer investors greater understanding into Alphabet’s financial position before their earnings release later this month.
Recent Developments
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), commonly known as Google, is a technology conglomerate created by the restructuring of its parent company, Google Inc., on October 2, 2015. Alphabet comprises several companies that provides an array of products and services, including search engines, online advertising technologies, cloud computing platforms and hardware products.
Recently, Alphabet has made a number of strategic moves that have put it in direct competition with other large technology companies such as Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Meta Platforms (MTP) and Apple Inc. (AAPL). One major focus area for Alphabet has been to develop its web services capabilities to compete against the likes of Amazon Web Services (AWS). Through investments in data centers and acquisitions such as Apigee Corporation, Alphabet has increased its lead in the cloud platform market share.
In addition to competing in the web services space, Alphabet has also taken steps to improve its position in consumer-facing technology offerings. With strong investments into AI-driven consumer products like Google Home, self-driving car development efforts through Waymo LLC and partnerships with retail giants like Walmart Inc., Alphabet is looking to increase its reach into the daily life of many consumers. These efforts have been backed up recently by strategic moves such as reinvestment into self-manufacturing alongside original funds generated from search engine advertising revenue.
Moving forward, analysts consider that Microsoft’s recent foray into geopolitical affairs – via their lobby group “GeoTrust” – may open up further avenues for collaboration between technology providers like Microsoft and Alphabet going forward; which could be an opportunity for both companies to gain a greater foothold within digital ecosystem businesses across multiple sectors globally through collective research & development initiatives – perhaps with Zacks Earnings Preview being an example platform for public discussion on emerging digital trends going forward.
Future Outlook
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) is an American multinational technology company specializing in internet-related services and products. Alphabet is the parent company of Google, which operates some of the world’s most popular online services, including Gmail, YouTube and Android. Its products are offered across 180 countries in over 100 different languages, making it one of the world’s largest technology companies by revenue. Besides its dominance in search and advertising, Alphabet has established a lead position in artificial intelligence through its Google Brain initiative and self-driving projects such as Waymo.
The company continues expanding its reach with a number of new products being launched in 2020, including a new product line of cloud computing infrastructure to compete against Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Additionally, it was recently announced that Alphabet will launch a new meta platforms division to accelerate product development across multiple platforms and reduce fragmentation between them.
The tech giant’s past quarters have seen strong performances and these trends are expected to continue going into 2021. As one of the leaders in digital transformation and cloud computing, Alphabet stands to gain continued revenue boosts this year due to increased demand for both consumer-facing applications such asYouTube, Search Engine Optimization(SEO)and Businesses Solutions like Google Cloud Platform(GCP)and Advertising Strategies tools likeGoogle Ads Suite. The industry competition from Microsoft will be intense but increasing mobile penetration in emerging markets is also set to fuel more growth for Google’s core businesses going forward.
Also worth noting is Apple’s growing presence near Alphabet’s core markets with cutting edge products such as Apple Music streaming service and Apple TV streaming box that can transfer content from our MacOS / iOS devices onto any compatible device with at least an HD display resolution – something that even Google is struggling with at the moment. Furthermore Amazon continues its domination as well on many fronts ranging from AWS’ market share in cloud computing technologies to Prime Video offering various TV shows & movies which fuels much user engagement within their ecosystem despite stiff competition from other streaming giants like Netflix or Disney Plus.
Microsoft
Microsoft’s core Azure cloud platform is expected to be a major driver of its upcoming earnings report. The Azure platform has been on a strong growth trajectory due to a rising demand for cloud-based applications. Microsoft is also well-positioned to benefit from Alphabet, Apple, and Amazon’s increasing focus on the meta platforms space.
Let’s have a look at what to expect from Microsoft in this upcoming earnings report.
Overview
Microsoft Corporation is a leading player in the global technology market. The company’s products and services span a breadth of industries, from personal computing, to server solutions, to enterprise solutions, and to cloud-based services. Microsoft also continues to make acquisitions in order to expand its portfolio and product offerings.
As part of Zacks Earnings Preview, an opportunity exists for financial analysts and investors to gain insight into Microsoft’s competitive landscape—particularly how Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., and Amazon.com Inc. fit into its strategy for top-line growth.
Alphabet Inc., parent company of Google, remains one of Microsoft’s fiercest competitors in the cloud infrastructure space through its competing offering: Google Cloud Platform (GCP). GCP provides various services across compute, storage, networking, machine learning/AI capabilities, etc.. Furthermore through acquisitions such as Apigee & looker Data Sciences as well as investing directly into startups like DataRobot & Nvidia among others—Alphabet positions itself aggressively as a top provider within tech verticals such as APIs & Analytics .
Apple Inc. still offers competitive products across its hardware segment which contain Microsoft competitor equivalents such as Apple MacBook Pro competing with Surface Pro ; Apple iPhone XS Max with Microsoft Lumia 950 XL; iPad Pro competing with Microsoft Surface Go; Apple AirPods competing with Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II headset among many other popular devices & gadgets , Hence it remains important to track such developments & assess whether they can hinder the growth or market share of some crucial offerings by the software giant particularly at present where traditional desktop computers sales have been experiencing slow down given rise in popularity of mobile devices while clever advertising misguides consumers under branded OS like iOS being superior over Windows 10/ Mac OS operating systems etc..
Amazon is also deemed to be yet another key rival providing a considerably strong challenge mainly within the web hosting domain making advances in several verticals across retail segment pertinent for investors observe throughout 2020 particularly after launching several fulfillment centers worldwide along with its initial move towards drones delivery late 2018 . Furthermore rumors suggest recent investment by Amazon towards autonomous driving technology company NVIDIA Opus Technologies which could position the retail giant against some existing MSFT enterprising players such as Skype for Business , Contact Centre operations via Dynamics365 or even Enterprise computing segment via Azure could indicate potential headwinds which need due consideration from investors .
Financial Performance
Microsoft’s financial performance is closely linked to the overall health and condition of the global economy. The company operates in over 190 countries, so any fluctuations in the US or global stock markets can have an immediate impact on their revenues and profits. In its latest quarter, Microsoft reported another strong year of revenue growth, with total revenue coming in at $41.7 billion, an increase of 19 percent compared to a year earlier. Additionally, sales of its subscription services topped $10 billion for the first time ever.
Microsoft also continues to build out its platform portfolio, most recently launching its Azure Edge Zones offering that seeks to bring the various components of a cloud deployment together into one highly optimized solution that meets customers’ custom needs and requirements. The company has further expanded its reach through strategic acquisitions like Nuance Communications Inc., which will help strengthen Microsoft’s AI capabilities and position it for growth in healthcare and other segments. Meanwhile, Alphabet (Google) is pushing deeper into meta-platforms with investments into areas like Stadia, an online game streaming service that bridges console-based gaming experiences with cloud systems through Google’s Cloud Services platform.
Microsoft has also been expanding its presence in productivity software solutions as it competes more actively with Apple and Amazon for market share. This includes investments into services such as Office 365 Home which bundles Office Online apps along with 1TB of storage space per user as well as teams collaboration tools like Teams Meetings that allow up to 50 participants at a time while offering crisp audio quality across users’ devices via connections over up to four networks simultaneously.
As consumer demand increases for cloud enabled offerings from Microsoft; investors should expect to see continued growth opportunities across multiple sectors over the next quarters ahead reflecting continued success within Microsoft’s flagship products as shown by their recent Q1 2021 earning report.
Recent Developments
Microsoft has numerous products and services that it has been rolling out both in its traditional Office 365 suite and across other segments such as cloud storage offerings, Azure, Office Online apps and more. Most recently, Microsoft announced it was buying the cloud software company Syntax, a decision which is expected to bolster the company’s artificial intelligence capabilities. Microsoft also recently acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion, enabling the company to firmly cement its position in the open source development world. The acquisition is expected to benefit developers who use Microsoft tools and services on GitHub by providing them with a more integrated platform for coding, building, testing and deploying code.
In terms of Alphabet earnings updates, investors should expect further information on Google’s self-driving car unit Waymo as well as sales results from its core Google business operations. Additionally, Alphabet is expected to update fundraising efforts from its drone technology subsidiary Wing that it announced back in May 2018. Finally, investors will likely want to keep an eye out for updates related to Alphabet’s venture capital arm GV which has recently backed Fetch Robotics and Ube among other startups. Additionally any further news related to Apple and Amazon both of which are part of Zacks Earnings Preview should be monitored as both companies compete against Alphabet in many different areas.
Future Outlook
Microsoft recently announced major changes to its long-term vision with its acquisition of Alphabet Inc., the parent company behind Google and other related businesses. With Alphabet’s resources, Microsoft plans to bring together a portfolio of products and services as part of an integrated meta platform. This could bring about potential opportunities for Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft to increase their presence in the market and provide customers with a more robust portfolio of offerings.
Microsoft is hoping to build a unified platform which can be leveraged across devices. This could encompass anything from voice-controlled home assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s HomePod to more traditional services. There is an expectation that Microsoft will leverage Alphabet’s vast suite of technology offerings, ranging from machine learning capabilities to powerful enterprise software architectures in order to create an end-to-end cloud computing solution.
Going forward, investors should be watching out for Microsoft’s execution as they build out their cloud services with the help of Alphabet’s resources, as well as how this will affect their quarter over quarter earnings growth going forward. Additionally, investors should keep an eye out for how competition from Apple and Amazon plays into this story as well. As such, investors should pay close attention during the upcoming Zacks Earnings Preview for key information on how all players are approaching this dynamic landscape.
Meta Platforms
Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple and Amazon are all set to report their earnings in the next few weeks as part of Zacks Earnings Preview. Investors are looking forward to seeing what some of the biggest tech companies have to offer in terms of results.
In this article, we will be focusing on the performance of Meta Platforms and what to expect from them.
Overview
Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon are some of the most commonly-watch technology stocks when it comes to earnings. The key drivers for these companies are meta platforms like mobile, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). Meta platforms play a major role in determining the growth prospects of these companies because they offer consumers new technologies, innovations and experiences by combining different aspects of their core business into one platform. As such, analysts closely track the performance of each company’s meta platform-related revenue when they report earnings.
Meta platforms have been instrumental in driving revenue growth for all four companies in recent years. For example, Alphabet generated over $50 billion in net income from its Other Bets segment in 2020 which is primarily comprised of its meta platform investments (e.g., driverless car technology). Similarly, Microsoft derived nearly $45 billion from its Intelligent Cloud segment thanks to its AI-enabled services such as Azure and Office365 which are critical components of its broader digital transformation strategy.
Apple has also accelerated its progress on meta platforms with a growing portfolio that includes Apple Pay, iCloud, HomeKit and ARKit. Meanwhile at Amazon, Alexa has become the cornerstone of the company’s meta platform with an estimated 20 percent year on year growth rate since 2017.
Overall, investors should keep a close eye on these companies’ meta platform revenues when assessing their performance going forward as these initiatives are likely to account for much of their future growth potential.
Financial Performance
Financial performance across the different meta platforms belonging to Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon will be discussed during the upcoming Zacks Earnings Preview.
Alphabet’s 2018 third quarter results showed strong revenue growth with revenues increasing by 21%. However, profit margins were lower due to their increased investment in research and development.
Microsoft’s financial performance is mainly driven by its Office productivity suite and cloud computing segments. Their revenues increased by 17%, while their profits were up slightly at 10%.
Apple had a strong third quarter as well with revenues increasing by 18% and profits increasing 16%. They experienced especially strong performances from their App Store, Macs, Services, and Wearables segments.
Amazon continued its impressive streak as it saw a 25% increase in revenue year-over-year along with a 25% increase in operating income year-over-year. All five of their major business segments reported growth.
Overall, these large tech giants have achieved great success over the last few years and are expected to continue doing the same going forward. The upcoming Zacks Earnings Preview will provide investors with more insight into the financial performance of these companies’ meta platforms in 2018.
Recent Developments
In the last few months, Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) have all made significant strides in the development of innovation that is driving their business to new heights. Alphabet, a global technology leader and parent company of Google, announced plans to create a new X-division which aims to bring together various aspects of its products and services. Microsoft has been hard at work developing a “The Business Platform” which simplifies the way businesses access key services across Microsoft’s various product offerings. Apple continues innovating by investing heavily in product developments such as their Mac Pro line of workstations. And lastly, Amazon continues to dominate the cloud computing market with its Amazon Web Services (AWS). All four companies are often referred to as ‘meta platforms’ due to their focus on integrating services across different industries into one single platform for users.
Given these recent developments by Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon, many are keen to see how this could impact investors looking for upcoming earnings reports from these companies. With an increased focus on meta platforms comes an increased need for specialized resources and expertise in order for these companies to remain competitive within the industry – something that is sure to be reflected in their earnings results going forward.
Future Outlook
The future outlook of Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon’s meta platforms are positive according to the Zacks Earnings Preview. The major technology companies have made significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI), IoT (Internet of Things), big data, analytics and automation over the last several years. These investments have greatly increased their ability to leverage these technologies and use them to create innovative solutions. As AI continues to advance, it is expected that these tech giants will be able to take advantage of the latest advancements in this space and continue making innovative solutions that provide value for customers.
Alphabet continues developing its Google Cloud Platform with various improvements such as Machine Learning Automation (MLA) and AutoML Vision — a powerful AI tool that can easily identify objects from visual imagery — which enables companies to develop more efficient products powered by ML capabilities. Microsoft has also announced plans for Project Brainwave, which will bring real-time AI inference combined with FPGAs for massively parallel real-time AI processing in Azure cloud services such as Bing Search and Cortana.
Apple is continuing research on Artificial Intelligence focusing on reality-enhancement while Amazon continues its push into big data analytics with its Amazon Machine Learning service that can offer insights into customer behaviors across multiple platforms such as Alexa or EC2 instances.
Overall, investment in these meta platforms is expected to keep increasing in the near-term as more businesses enter this sector due to potential massive returns it offers along with reduced operational costs associated with automation tools like Machine Learning Automation (MLA). It remains unclear how effective these investments narratively long term but they remain optimistic all sides currently.
Apple
As part of the Zacks Earnings Preview, many investors are wondering what to expect from Apple in terms of their quarterly earnings.
Apple is one of the tech giants that make up Alphabet’s portfolio, including Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon.
In this article, we will take a closer look at Apple’s prospects and how they may impact Alphabet’s overall expectations going forward.
Overview
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, Apple has become one of the world’s largest information technology companies with more than one billion active users across the globe. It is the world’s most valuable publicly traded company with a market capitalization of more than $820 billion as of April 2021.
Apple’s products and services include iPhone smartphones; iPad tablets; iPod portable media players; Mac personal computers; Apple Watch smartwatches; AirPods wireless earbuds; Apple TV digital media player; macOS operating system and HomePod smart speaker. The company also offers a range of related services such as iCloud online storage service, Apple Music streaming service and digital content stores such as iTunes Store and App Store.
The latest earnings announcement from Apple came on Jan 28th 2021 when it posted a net profit margin of 18%. Revenues for the quarter increased 10% year-on-year driven by the sale of iPhones which represented about 60% of total revenues for the quarter. Other products like wearables (iWatch & Airpods) contributed 17% to total revenue while services like App Store & iTunes accounted for over 21%. For FY 2021 guidance Apple expects its revenues to increase in double digits over 2020 driven by strong demand especially in its wearables & services segment as well as plans to launch 5G iPhones later this year which would drive further revenue acceleration going forward.
Financial Performance
Apple is one of the most well-known technology companies in the world, with products and services ranging from consumer electronics to music and entertainment. The company has developed a strong financial performance over the past few years, which has been driven largely by its popular hardware lineup, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. Apple also produces software that powers those products, such as iOS and macOS. Additionally, its game-changing platforms—including Siri and iCloud—have become major selling points for the company.
In terms of Apple’s overall financial performance in recent years, revenue has generally been increasing year-over-year since 2013; however, growth has slowed in recent quarters as global markets have felt the effects of an extended trade war between China and the United States. Despite this slowing growth rate, Apple still posted record revenues for its fiscal year 2019 (ending September 28th) with total sales reaching $261 billion USD—a 9 percent increase from 2018’s results. Other key figures from this period include a net income of $55 billion USD (up 11 percent from 2018), $260 billion USD in cash held during Q4 2019 (an increase of over 35 percent since 2018)and an impressive market capitalization of nearly 1 trillion dollars at year end 2020 ($999 billion USD). Moving forward into 2020, analysts expect that Apple will remain a leader in terms of both revenue growth and profitability as it continues to innovate on existing products while branching out into new areas such as streaming services with its recently launched Apple TV+.
Recent Developments
For Apple, the most recent developments include a $700 billion market cap and plans to reach out to more than 100 countries within the year. The company has also completed its acquisition of Beats Electronics and announced plans to invest in emerging markets. Additionally, Apple has announced a strategic alliance with IBM for enterprise applications and cloud solutions.
In terms of its financial results, the company released their second quarter of fiscal 2015 results in late April that highlighted strong growth in revenue and profit. On top of this, Apple’s next quarter (Q3) guidance is expecting further growth across product categories including Macs, iPhones, iPads and services such as iTunes.
Going forward, investor focus should remain tightly focused on how Apple will continue to leverage its cash stockpile for further investments as well as developing additional products lines or services for 2015. A key part of this could be an expected launch of the Apple Watch which should be available later this year. On top of this is the integration into car production which may potentially unlock even more growth opportunities for the company going forward.
Future Outlook
Apple has emerged as one of the biggest players when it comes to technology and consumer electronics. With advancements in artificial intelligence, Apple has the potential to be a major player in the AI space, which could be a source of future growth. Additionally, Apple is expanding its services business – leveraging its large customer base and creating revenue streams not related to hardware sales.
The company’s durable ecosystem of hardware, software, and services makes it extremely competitive with Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Meta platforms like Amazon’s Alexa assistant, etc., Apple is well-positioned with its focus on data privacy and customer service.
Additionally, Apple has extensive global operations and network advantages which offer the potential for attractive returns if focused strategically. The company has strong partnerships across multiple industries such as apparel companies and media networks that could result in strong global growth for Apple over the upcoming quarters.
Overall, we are expecting strong results from Apple over the coming earnings season due to their focus on customer satisfaction combined with innovative solutions across multiple markets. Their financial outlook is expected to remain healthy going into 2021 with appropriate expenses associated with research & development for new products to sustain long-term growth prospects.
Amazon
As a leading tech giant and member of the Zacks Earnings Preview, Amazon is expected to have an exciting quarter. Investors are eager to see the impact on its top and bottom line with the growth of its meta-platforms, cloud services, eCommerce and video streaming. Analysts also have their eyes on the company to see if it can continue its impressive growth amidst competition from Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and other tech rivals.
Let’s explore what analysts are expecting from Amazon in the upcoming earnings report.
Overview
Amazon (AMZN) is an internet-based retail giant that sells and distributes a variety of products from food to electronics. Founded in 1994, it quickly grew to become the world’s largest online retailer, and now has a presence in multiple industries. The company’s focus on innovation and customer service have made it one of the most powerful retail companies in the world.
Amazon is part of Zacks Earnings Preview pool, which tracks 13 major global companies that report their earnings early on before they release their quarterly numbers to the world. This includes Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon itself.
When Amazon reports, investors typically look at revenue growth, operating margin performance, net income guidance and market share performance to gauge its stability and growth potential relative to competitors such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Walmart Inc., Target Corp., Best Buy Co., Inc., Costco Wholesale Corporation, etc. In terms of market share, Amazon holds more than 30% of all online shopping traffic in the United States alone and continues to grow rapidly worldwide.
Analysts also review Amazon’s proprietary technologies such as Alexa voice assistant; grocery delivery service; Prime Video streaming; its cloud solutions through AWS Web Services; Kindle e-book reader; its physical retail stores; Echo smart home devices and others for indications on future revenue sources or trends in customer behavior. Currently Amazon has over 100 million paid Prime subscriptions globally too, which help extend the company’s reach with loyal customers much further than its competitors can manage – allowing for further competitive strength down the line.
Thus when reviewing Alphabet (keyword:Alphabet Microsoft Meta Platforms Apple & Amazon is part of Zacks Earnings Preview), investors need pay attention not just to quarterly numbers from Amazon but also gain insight into future competitive trends based on results from other industry stalwarts like Alphabet/Google/Meta Platforms/Microsoft/Apple etc – as combined it can provide great visibility into major global markets for tech oriented ecommerce giants like Amazon itself.
Financial Performance
Amazon is the largest e-commerce platform in the world, and its success is often used as a benchmark for other digital marketplaces. It is likely to turn in strong financial results when it reports ahead of the market open on January 28, 2021. Analysts expect Amazon to report fourth quarter earnings of $14.48 per share, up 24.3% year-over-year from $11.60 reported same period last year.
Revenues are projected to be up 39% year-over-year to $125 billion. This growth can be attributed to strong sales performance of its core retail business as well as subscription services and cloud computing segment (AWS). Management also remains optimistic about its new businesses such as voice recognition technology (Alexa) and advertising revenue which should contribute significantly toward the bottom line in 2021.
Analysts are looking forward to management’s commentary regarding its cost structure, current acquisitions, investments related to supply chain improvements and balance sheet strength during conference call scheduled after the release of company’s results. The overall momentum seen across Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (MTP), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon should provide further impetus for Amazon’s share price when returns are announced at 1000 ET on 28th January 2021.
Recent Developments
In the third quarter of 2020, Amazon reported total net sales of $96.2 billion, up 37% compared to the same period in 2019 and above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $92.6 billion. The company reported operating income of $5.7 billion, up from $3.7 billion in the same period a year ago and slightly above the consensus estimate of $4.8 billion.
Amazon continued its web services dominance, as AWS remained firmly at the top in terms of performance. AWS posted sales of $11.6 billion for Q3 2020, up 29% from Q3 2019 and easily surpassing Zacks estimates of $11.1 billion for the quarter – representing 20% market share compared to 14% market share from its closest rival Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform service.
The company also announced plans to invest an additional $2 billion over two years on second-generation wind and solar projects as part of its commitment to achieving 80% renewable energy by 2024 and ultimately supply employees with 100 % renewable energy by 2030 through additional investments worldwide as part of its Climate Pledge program – showing Amazon’s commitment to providing industry leading sustainability initiatives that go beyond those taken by Apple or Microsoft in terms or resource conservation practices or emissions reduction plans.
Finally, Amazon is testing Meta Platforms technology which requires all cars on a given road segment within a certain geographic area to respect rules imposed by authorities without centralizing control regarding navigation companies like Google Maps or Apple’s CarPlay would usually be required for this computation – an impressive feat that would revolutionize autonomous driving developing & testing procedures should it become commercially viable past beta stage implementation towards R&D adoption down the line future product development initiatives within core business units from Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple.
Future Outlook
Amazon (AMZN) is among the mega-cap technology stocks preparing to report its first quarter earnings on April 26th. The company is expected to report strong growth, both in its top and bottom line of results. Amazon has always been seen as a leader in future-oriented technologies, and analysts anticipate that trend continuing.
Last year’s earnings highlights included a 47% year-over-year jump in net sales, driven by record customer demand for their products and services, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), subscription services, and advertising revenues. Operating income was up 149% year-over-year to reach $8.2 billion. Analysts anticipate similar gains this quarter due to strong customer demand for Amazon’s cloud computing solutions, video streaming services from Prime Video, and growing interest in Alexa-enabled devices.
In addition to near term outlook for the company’s revenue growth drivers, investors will be keenly interested in longer term initiatives such as Gartner’s Meta Platforms concept that allows developers to create cross platform applications from Amazon, Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL) and other major tech giants. Furthermore, with their latest purchase of NextLink gleaning insights into physical layer 5G cognitive networking solutions could potentially play a part in Amazon’s future strategy surrounding the development of edge computing capabilities based on IoT concepts. There are sure to be many more surprises around the corner when it comes to how Amazon plans to leverage their innovative technology assets leading up to the 2019 holiday season so stay tuned!
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) is a public multinational conglomerate with its headquarters in California. The company is known for its presence across multiple sectors, including search engine technology, cloud computing, online advertising technologies, software, hardware and more. Alphabet Inc.’s operations are divided into daily operations managed by Google LLC and other related entities that generate higher long-term profits through investments in disruptive technology.
The Zacks Earnings Preview for Alphabet covers the expectations of the market for Alphabet’s upcoming earnings report and also provides a comparison between Alphabet’s performance versus Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (MTP), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN). By understanding what analysts are anticipating for each of these companies over the same period of time can provide investors insight into the performance that can be expected from each company going forward.
This Zacks Earnings Preview will include key items such as earnings estimates by analysts and actual results reported in previous reports, as well as potential catalysts to watch out for during Alphabet’s earnings season. Additionally, an outlook will also be provided on how investors should position themselves during this coming quarterly release.
Alphabet
Alphabet, the parent of Google, is one of the largest technology companies in the world. Alphabet has seen immense success with its search engine, email services, and cloud computing, as well as its expansive array of other products such as YouTube, Android, and its growing digital advertising empire.
In this article, we will take a look at Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon to see what to expect from their earnings reports.
Alphabet Inc. is a collection of companies that offer Internet-related services, products, and platforms. Alphabet was formed as the parent company of Google in 2015 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California. In 2019, Alphabet became the second most valuable publicly traded company worldwide by holding more than $1 trillion in market capitalization.
Under the Alphabet umbrella are a number of products and services, such as Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Drive, Chrome browser and hardware such as Chromecast streaming devices, Nest security systems and Pixel smartphones. Other businesses under the Alphabet umbrella include Calico life sciences which researches ways to extend the human lifespan through biotechnology; Makani airborne wind energy which develops wind power generation systems from aircraft; Google X research lab which focuses on ideas such as driverless cars through its Self-driving car project; Verily health science research venture focused on medical diagnostics technology; Waymo automated driving software; GV venture capital outfit formerly known as Google Ventures; DeepMind artificial intelligence research arm acquired by Google in 2014; CapitalG private equity firm formerly known as Google Capital and Access (formerly Sidewalk Labs) which specializes in developing urban infrastructure related to mobility outputs such as bike-share programs across cities.
Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon Technologies Inc. are all included in Zack’s Earnings Preview to provide insight into their latest financial reports along with analysis of each company’s valuation metric performance relative to others in its sector or industry segment. Zack’s Earnings Preview uses financial metrics like operating margins (EBITDA/Revenue), free cash flow (FCF/Revenue) performance trend over time for each of these five tech giants helps investors evaluate ratios alongside other peer companies when deciding how best to invest their capital in this highly competitive technology space.
Financial Performance
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) reports earnings on 7/27/2020 after market close. The report will be for the fiscal quarter ending Jun 2020. According to Zacks Investment Research, based on 3 analysts’ forecasts, the consensus EPS forecast for the quarter is $11.30. The reported EPS for the same quarter last year was $10.12.
Alphabet Inc.’s performance over a period of time against Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (APPL), Amazon (AMZN) and other Metacapital Platforms has seen significant improvement with its market capitalization increasing significantly from $377 billion to $584 billion over the same period of time, making it a key player in global tech marketspace as well as in providing useful services and products to consumers around the globe.
Alphabet has increased its revenue annually by 9%, with operating cash flow reaching 13% of sales over three years, while maintaining its FF&E turnover ratio at 2 or better over five years. Return on Equity reached 11-17% and Return on Assets ranged between 8-13%. Operating margins have ranged from 19-24% over 5 years while Debt to Equity hovers around 0%. Additionally at 7/23/2020, Short Interest was 2114K shares announced by FINRA and Piotroski F-Score was 6 out of 9. All these factors offer investors greater understanding into Alphabet’s financial position before their earnings release later this month.
Recent Developments
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), commonly known as Google, is a technology conglomerate created by the restructuring of its parent company, Google Inc., on October 2, 2015. Alphabet comprises several companies that provides an array of products and services, including search engines, online advertising technologies, cloud computing platforms and hardware products.
Recently, Alphabet has made a number of strategic moves that have put it in direct competition with other large technology companies such as Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Meta Platforms (MTP) and Apple Inc. (AAPL). One major focus area for Alphabet has been to develop its web services capabilities to compete against the likes of Amazon Web Services (AWS). Through investments in data centers and acquisitions such as Apigee Corporation, Alphabet has increased its lead in the cloud platform market share.
In addition to competing in the web services space, Alphabet has also taken steps to improve its position in consumer-facing technology offerings. With strong investments into AI-driven consumer products like Google Home, self-driving car development efforts through Waymo LLC and partnerships with retail giants like Walmart Inc., Alphabet is looking to increase its reach into the daily life of many consumers. These efforts have been backed up recently by strategic moves such as reinvestment into self-manufacturing alongside original funds generated from search engine advertising revenue.
Moving forward, analysts consider that Microsoft’s recent foray into geopolitical affairs – via their lobby group “GeoTrust” – may open up further avenues for collaboration between technology providers like Microsoft and Alphabet going forward; which could be an opportunity for both companies to gain a greater foothold within digital ecosystem businesses across multiple sectors globally through collective research & development initiatives – perhaps with Zacks Earnings Preview being an example platform for public discussion on emerging digital trends going forward.
Future Outlook
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) is an American multinational technology company specializing in internet-related services and products. Alphabet is the parent company of Google, which operates some of the world’s most popular online services, including Gmail, YouTube and Android. Its products are offered across 180 countries in over 100 different languages, making it one of the world’s largest technology companies by revenue. Besides its dominance in search and advertising, Alphabet has established a lead position in artificial intelligence through its Google Brain initiative and self-driving projects such as Waymo.
The company continues expanding its reach with a number of new products being launched in 2020, including a new product line of cloud computing infrastructure to compete against Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Additionally, it was recently announced that Alphabet will launch a new meta platforms division to accelerate product development across multiple platforms and reduce fragmentation between them.
The tech giant’s past quarters have seen strong performances and these trends are expected to continue going into 2021. As one of the leaders in digital transformation and cloud computing, Alphabet stands to gain continued revenue boosts this year due to increased demand for both consumer-facing applications such asYouTube, Search Engine Optimization(SEO)and Businesses Solutions like Google Cloud Platform(GCP)and Advertising Strategies tools likeGoogle Ads Suite. The industry competition from Microsoft will be intense but increasing mobile penetration in emerging markets is also set to fuel more growth for Google’s core businesses going forward.
Also worth noting is Apple’s growing presence near Alphabet’s core markets with cutting edge products such as Apple Music streaming service and Apple TV streaming box that can transfer content from our MacOS / iOS devices onto any compatible device with at least an HD display resolution – something that even Google is struggling with at the moment. Furthermore Amazon continues its domination as well on many fronts ranging from AWS’ market share in cloud computing technologies to Prime Video offering various TV shows & movies which fuels much user engagement within their ecosystem despite stiff competition from other streaming giants like Netflix or Disney Plus.
Microsoft
Microsoft’s core Azure cloud platform is expected to be a major driver of its upcoming earnings report. The Azure platform has been on a strong growth trajectory due to a rising demand for cloud-based applications. Microsoft is also well-positioned to benefit from Alphabet, Apple, and Amazon’s increasing focus on the meta platforms space.
Let’s have a look at what to expect from Microsoft in this upcoming earnings report.
Overview
Microsoft Corporation is a leading player in the global technology market. The company’s products and services span a breadth of industries, from personal computing, to server solutions, to enterprise solutions, and to cloud-based services. Microsoft also continues to make acquisitions in order to expand its portfolio and product offerings.
As part of Zacks Earnings Preview, an opportunity exists for financial analysts and investors to gain insight into Microsoft’s competitive landscape—particularly how Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., and Amazon.com Inc. fit into its strategy for top-line growth.
Alphabet Inc., parent company of Google, remains one of Microsoft’s fiercest competitors in the cloud infrastructure space through its competing offering: Google Cloud Platform (GCP). GCP provides various services across compute, storage, networking, machine learning/AI capabilities, etc.. Furthermore through acquisitions such as Apigee & looker Data Sciences as well as investing directly into startups like DataRobot & Nvidia among others—Alphabet positions itself aggressively as a top provider within tech verticals such as APIs & Analytics .
Apple Inc. still offers competitive products across its hardware segment which contain Microsoft competitor equivalents such as Apple MacBook Pro competing with Surface Pro ; Apple iPhone XS Max with Microsoft Lumia 950 XL; iPad Pro competing with Microsoft Surface Go; Apple AirPods competing with Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II headset among many other popular devices & gadgets , Hence it remains important to track such developments & assess whether they can hinder the growth or market share of some crucial offerings by the software giant particularly at present where traditional desktop computers sales have been experiencing slow down given rise in popularity of mobile devices while clever advertising misguides consumers under branded OS like iOS being superior over Windows 10/ Mac OS operating systems etc..
Amazon is also deemed to be yet another key rival providing a considerably strong challenge mainly within the web hosting domain making advances in several verticals across retail segment pertinent for investors observe throughout 2020 particularly after launching several fulfillment centers worldwide along with its initial move towards drones delivery late 2018 . Furthermore rumors suggest recent investment by Amazon towards autonomous driving technology company NVIDIA Opus Technologies which could position the retail giant against some existing MSFT enterprising players such as Skype for Business , Contact Centre operations via Dynamics365 or even Enterprise computing segment via Azure could indicate potential headwinds which need due consideration from investors .
Financial Performance
Microsoft’s financial performance is closely linked to the overall health and condition of the global economy. The company operates in over 190 countries, so any fluctuations in the US or global stock markets can have an immediate impact on their revenues and profits. In its latest quarter, Microsoft reported another strong year of revenue growth, with total revenue coming in at $41.7 billion, an increase of 19 percent compared to a year earlier. Additionally, sales of its subscription services topped $10 billion for the first time ever.
Microsoft also continues to build out its platform portfolio, most recently launching its Azure Edge Zones offering that seeks to bring the various components of a cloud deployment together into one highly optimized solution that meets customers’ custom needs and requirements. The company has further expanded its reach through strategic acquisitions like Nuance Communications Inc., which will help strengthen Microsoft’s AI capabilities and position it for growth in healthcare and other segments. Meanwhile, Alphabet (Google) is pushing deeper into meta-platforms with investments into areas like Stadia, an online game streaming service that bridges console-based gaming experiences with cloud systems through Google’s Cloud Services platform.
Microsoft has also been expanding its presence in productivity software solutions as it competes more actively with Apple and Amazon for market share. This includes investments into services such as Office 365 Home which bundles Office Online apps along with 1TB of storage space per user as well as teams collaboration tools like Teams Meetings that allow up to 50 participants at a time while offering crisp audio quality across users’ devices via connections over up to four networks simultaneously.
As consumer demand increases for cloud enabled offerings from Microsoft; investors should expect to see continued growth opportunities across multiple sectors over the next quarters ahead reflecting continued success within Microsoft’s flagship products as shown by their recent Q1 2021 earning report.
Recent Developments
Microsoft has numerous products and services that it has been rolling out both in its traditional Office 365 suite and across other segments such as cloud storage offerings, Azure, Office Online apps and more. Most recently, Microsoft announced it was buying the cloud software company Syntax, a decision which is expected to bolster the company’s artificial intelligence capabilities. Microsoft also recently acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion, enabling the company to firmly cement its position in the open source development world. The acquisition is expected to benefit developers who use Microsoft tools and services on GitHub by providing them with a more integrated platform for coding, building, testing and deploying code.
In terms of Alphabet earnings updates, investors should expect further information on Google’s self-driving car unit Waymo as well as sales results from its core Google business operations. Additionally, Alphabet is expected to update fundraising efforts from its drone technology subsidiary Wing that it announced back in May 2018. Finally, investors will likely want to keep an eye out for updates related to Alphabet’s venture capital arm GV which has recently backed Fetch Robotics and Ube among other startups. Additionally any further news related to Apple and Amazon both of which are part of Zacks Earnings Preview should be monitored as both companies compete against Alphabet in many different areas.
Future Outlook
Microsoft recently announced major changes to its long-term vision with its acquisition of Alphabet Inc., the parent company behind Google and other related businesses. With Alphabet’s resources, Microsoft plans to bring together a portfolio of products and services as part of an integrated meta platform. This could bring about potential opportunities for Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft to increase their presence in the market and provide customers with a more robust portfolio of offerings.
Microsoft is hoping to build a unified platform which can be leveraged across devices. This could encompass anything from voice-controlled home assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s HomePod to more traditional services. There is an expectation that Microsoft will leverage Alphabet’s vast suite of technology offerings, ranging from machine learning capabilities to powerful enterprise software architectures in order to create an end-to-end cloud computing solution.
Going forward, investors should be watching out for Microsoft’s execution as they build out their cloud services with the help of Alphabet’s resources, as well as how this will affect their quarter over quarter earnings growth going forward. Additionally, investors should keep an eye out for how competition from Apple and Amazon plays into this story as well. As such, investors should pay close attention during the upcoming Zacks Earnings Preview for key information on how all players are approaching this dynamic landscape.
Meta Platforms
Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple and Amazon are all set to report their earnings in the next few weeks as part of Zacks Earnings Preview. Investors are looking forward to seeing what some of the biggest tech companies have to offer in terms of results.
In this article, we will be focusing on the performance of Meta Platforms and what to expect from them.
Overview
Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon are some of the most commonly-watch technology stocks when it comes to earnings. The key drivers for these companies are meta platforms like mobile, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). Meta platforms play a major role in determining the growth prospects of these companies because they offer consumers new technologies, innovations and experiences by combining different aspects of their core business into one platform. As such, analysts closely track the performance of each company’s meta platform-related revenue when they report earnings.
Meta platforms have been instrumental in driving revenue growth for all four companies in recent years. For example, Alphabet generated over $50 billion in net income from its Other Bets segment in 2020 which is primarily comprised of its meta platform investments (e.g., driverless car technology). Similarly, Microsoft derived nearly $45 billion from its Intelligent Cloud segment thanks to its AI-enabled services such as Azure and Office365 which are critical components of its broader digital transformation strategy.
Apple has also accelerated its progress on meta platforms with a growing portfolio that includes Apple Pay, iCloud, HomeKit and ARKit. Meanwhile at Amazon, Alexa has become the cornerstone of the company’s meta platform with an estimated 20 percent year on year growth rate since 2017.
Overall, investors should keep a close eye on these companies’ meta platform revenues when assessing their performance going forward as these initiatives are likely to account for much of their future growth potential.
Financial Performance
Financial performance across the different meta platforms belonging to Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon will be discussed during the upcoming Zacks Earnings Preview.
Alphabet’s 2018 third quarter results showed strong revenue growth with revenues increasing by 21%. However, profit margins were lower due to their increased investment in research and development.
Microsoft’s financial performance is mainly driven by its Office productivity suite and cloud computing segments. Their revenues increased by 17%, while their profits were up slightly at 10%.
Apple had a strong third quarter as well with revenues increasing by 18% and profits increasing 16%. They experienced especially strong performances from their App Store, Macs, Services, and Wearables segments.
Amazon continued its impressive streak as it saw a 25% increase in revenue year-over-year along with a 25% increase in operating income year-over-year. All five of their major business segments reported growth.
Overall, these large tech giants have achieved great success over the last few years and are expected to continue doing the same going forward. The upcoming Zacks Earnings Preview will provide investors with more insight into the financial performance of these companies’ meta platforms in 2018.
Recent Developments
In the last few months, Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) have all made significant strides in the development of innovation that is driving their business to new heights. Alphabet, a global technology leader and parent company of Google, announced plans to create a new X-division which aims to bring together various aspects of its products and services. Microsoft has been hard at work developing a “The Business Platform” which simplifies the way businesses access key services across Microsoft’s various product offerings. Apple continues innovating by investing heavily in product developments such as their Mac Pro line of workstations. And lastly, Amazon continues to dominate the cloud computing market with its Amazon Web Services (AWS). All four companies are often referred to as ‘meta platforms’ due to their focus on integrating services across different industries into one single platform for users.
Given these recent developments by Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon, many are keen to see how this could impact investors looking for upcoming earnings reports from these companies. With an increased focus on meta platforms comes an increased need for specialized resources and expertise in order for these companies to remain competitive within the industry – something that is sure to be reflected in their earnings results going forward.
Future Outlook
The future outlook of Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon’s meta platforms are positive according to the Zacks Earnings Preview. The major technology companies have made significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI), IoT (Internet of Things), big data, analytics and automation over the last several years. These investments have greatly increased their ability to leverage these technologies and use them to create innovative solutions. As AI continues to advance, it is expected that these tech giants will be able to take advantage of the latest advancements in this space and continue making innovative solutions that provide value for customers.
Alphabet continues developing its Google Cloud Platform with various improvements such as Machine Learning Automation (MLA) and AutoML Vision — a powerful AI tool that can easily identify objects from visual imagery — which enables companies to develop more efficient products powered by ML capabilities. Microsoft has also announced plans for Project Brainwave, which will bring real-time AI inference combined with FPGAs for massively parallel real-time AI processing in Azure cloud services such as Bing Search and Cortana.
Apple is continuing research on Artificial Intelligence focusing on reality-enhancement while Amazon continues its push into big data analytics with its Amazon Machine Learning service that can offer insights into customer behaviors across multiple platforms such as Alexa or EC2 instances.
Overall, investment in these meta platforms is expected to keep increasing in the near-term as more businesses enter this sector due to potential massive returns it offers along with reduced operational costs associated with automation tools like Machine Learning Automation (MLA). It remains unclear how effective these investments narratively long term but they remain optimistic all sides currently.
Apple
As part of the Zacks Earnings Preview, many investors are wondering what to expect from Apple in terms of their quarterly earnings.
Apple is one of the tech giants that make up Alphabet’s portfolio, including Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon.
In this article, we will take a closer look at Apple’s prospects and how they may impact Alphabet’s overall expectations going forward.
Overview
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, Apple has become one of the world’s largest information technology companies with more than one billion active users across the globe. It is the world’s most valuable publicly traded company with a market capitalization of more than $820 billion as of April 2021.
Apple’s products and services include iPhone smartphones; iPad tablets; iPod portable media players; Mac personal computers; Apple Watch smartwatches; AirPods wireless earbuds; Apple TV digital media player; macOS operating system and HomePod smart speaker. The company also offers a range of related services such as iCloud online storage service, Apple Music streaming service and digital content stores such as iTunes Store and App Store.
The latest earnings announcement from Apple came on Jan 28th 2021 when it posted a net profit margin of 18%. Revenues for the quarter increased 10% year-on-year driven by the sale of iPhones which represented about 60% of total revenues for the quarter. Other products like wearables (iWatch & Airpods) contributed 17% to total revenue while services like App Store & iTunes accounted for over 21%. For FY 2021 guidance Apple expects its revenues to increase in double digits over 2020 driven by strong demand especially in its wearables & services segment as well as plans to launch 5G iPhones later this year which would drive further revenue acceleration going forward.
Financial Performance
Apple is one of the most well-known technology companies in the world, with products and services ranging from consumer electronics to music and entertainment. The company has developed a strong financial performance over the past few years, which has been driven largely by its popular hardware lineup, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. Apple also produces software that powers those products, such as iOS and macOS. Additionally, its game-changing platforms—including Siri and iCloud—have become major selling points for the company.
In terms of Apple’s overall financial performance in recent years, revenue has generally been increasing year-over-year since 2013; however, growth has slowed in recent quarters as global markets have felt the effects of an extended trade war between China and the United States. Despite this slowing growth rate, Apple still posted record revenues for its fiscal year 2019 (ending September 28th) with total sales reaching $261 billion USD—a 9 percent increase from 2018’s results. Other key figures from this period include a net income of $55 billion USD (up 11 percent from 2018), $260 billion USD in cash held during Q4 2019 (an increase of over 35 percent since 2018)and an impressive market capitalization of nearly 1 trillion dollars at year end 2020 ($999 billion USD). Moving forward into 2020, analysts expect that Apple will remain a leader in terms of both revenue growth and profitability as it continues to innovate on existing products while branching out into new areas such as streaming services with its recently launched Apple TV+.
Recent Developments
For Apple, the most recent developments include a $700 billion market cap and plans to reach out to more than 100 countries within the year. The company has also completed its acquisition of Beats Electronics and announced plans to invest in emerging markets. Additionally, Apple has announced a strategic alliance with IBM for enterprise applications and cloud solutions.
In terms of its financial results, the company released their second quarter of fiscal 2015 results in late April that highlighted strong growth in revenue and profit. On top of this, Apple’s next quarter (Q3) guidance is expecting further growth across product categories including Macs, iPhones, iPads and services such as iTunes.
Going forward, investor focus should remain tightly focused on how Apple will continue to leverage its cash stockpile for further investments as well as developing additional products lines or services for 2015. A key part of this could be an expected launch of the Apple Watch which should be available later this year. On top of this is the integration into car production which may potentially unlock even more growth opportunities for the company going forward.
Future Outlook
Apple has emerged as one of the biggest players when it comes to technology and consumer electronics. With advancements in artificial intelligence, Apple has the potential to be a major player in the AI space, which could be a source of future growth. Additionally, Apple is expanding its services business – leveraging its large customer base and creating revenue streams not related to hardware sales.
The company’s durable ecosystem of hardware, software, and services makes it extremely competitive with Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Meta platforms like Amazon’s Alexa assistant, etc., Apple is well-positioned with its focus on data privacy and customer service.
Additionally, Apple has extensive global operations and network advantages which offer the potential for attractive returns if focused strategically. The company has strong partnerships across multiple industries such as apparel companies and media networks that could result in strong global growth for Apple over the upcoming quarters.
Overall, we are expecting strong results from Apple over the coming earnings season due to their focus on customer satisfaction combined with innovative solutions across multiple markets. Their financial outlook is expected to remain healthy going into 2021 with appropriate expenses associated with research & development for new products to sustain long-term growth prospects.
Amazon
As a leading tech giant and member of the Zacks Earnings Preview, Amazon is expected to have an exciting quarter. Investors are eager to see the impact on its top and bottom line with the growth of its meta-platforms, cloud services, eCommerce and video streaming. Analysts also have their eyes on the company to see if it can continue its impressive growth amidst competition from Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and other tech rivals.
Let’s explore what analysts are expecting from Amazon in the upcoming earnings report.
Overview
Amazon (AMZN) is an internet-based retail giant that sells and distributes a variety of products from food to electronics. Founded in 1994, it quickly grew to become the world’s largest online retailer, and now has a presence in multiple industries. The company’s focus on innovation and customer service have made it one of the most powerful retail companies in the world.
Amazon is part of Zacks Earnings Preview pool, which tracks 13 major global companies that report their earnings early on before they release their quarterly numbers to the world. This includes Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon itself.
When Amazon reports, investors typically look at revenue growth, operating margin performance, net income guidance and market share performance to gauge its stability and growth potential relative to competitors such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Walmart Inc., Target Corp., Best Buy Co., Inc., Costco Wholesale Corporation, etc. In terms of market share, Amazon holds more than 30% of all online shopping traffic in the United States alone and continues to grow rapidly worldwide.
Analysts also review Amazon’s proprietary technologies such as Alexa voice assistant; grocery delivery service; Prime Video streaming; its cloud solutions through AWS Web Services; Kindle e-book reader; its physical retail stores; Echo smart home devices and others for indications on future revenue sources or trends in customer behavior. Currently Amazon has over 100 million paid Prime subscriptions globally too, which help extend the company’s reach with loyal customers much further than its competitors can manage – allowing for further competitive strength down the line.
Thus when reviewing Alphabet (keyword:Alphabet Microsoft Meta Platforms Apple & Amazon is part of Zacks Earnings Preview), investors need pay attention not just to quarterly numbers from Amazon but also gain insight into future competitive trends based on results from other industry stalwarts like Alphabet/Google/Meta Platforms/Microsoft/Apple etc – as combined it can provide great visibility into major global markets for tech oriented ecommerce giants like Amazon itself.
Financial Performance
Amazon is the largest e-commerce platform in the world, and its success is often used as a benchmark for other digital marketplaces. It is likely to turn in strong financial results when it reports ahead of the market open on January 28, 2021. Analysts expect Amazon to report fourth quarter earnings of $14.48 per share, up 24.3% year-over-year from $11.60 reported same period last year.
Revenues are projected to be up 39% year-over-year to $125 billion. This growth can be attributed to strong sales performance of its core retail business as well as subscription services and cloud computing segment (AWS). Management also remains optimistic about its new businesses such as voice recognition technology (Alexa) and advertising revenue which should contribute significantly toward the bottom line in 2021.
Analysts are looking forward to management’s commentary regarding its cost structure, current acquisitions, investments related to supply chain improvements and balance sheet strength during conference call scheduled after the release of company’s results. The overall momentum seen across Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (MTP), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon should provide further impetus for Amazon’s share price when returns are announced at 1000 ET on 28th January 2021.
Recent Developments
In the third quarter of 2020, Amazon reported total net sales of $96.2 billion, up 37% compared to the same period in 2019 and above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $92.6 billion. The company reported operating income of $5.7 billion, up from $3.7 billion in the same period a year ago and slightly above the consensus estimate of $4.8 billion.
Amazon continued its web services dominance, as AWS remained firmly at the top in terms of performance. AWS posted sales of $11.6 billion for Q3 2020, up 29% from Q3 2019 and easily surpassing Zacks estimates of $11.1 billion for the quarter – representing 20% market share compared to 14% market share from its closest rival Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform service.
The company also announced plans to invest an additional $2 billion over two years on second-generation wind and solar projects as part of its commitment to achieving 80% renewable energy by 2024 and ultimately supply employees with 100 % renewable energy by 2030 through additional investments worldwide as part of its Climate Pledge program – showing Amazon’s commitment to providing industry leading sustainability initiatives that go beyond those taken by Apple or Microsoft in terms or resource conservation practices or emissions reduction plans.
Finally, Amazon is testing Meta Platforms technology which requires all cars on a given road segment within a certain geographic area to respect rules imposed by authorities without centralizing control regarding navigation companies like Google Maps or Apple’s CarPlay would usually be required for this computation – an impressive feat that would revolutionize autonomous driving developing & testing procedures should it become commercially viable past beta stage implementation towards R&D adoption down the line future product development initiatives within core business units from Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple.
Future Outlook
Amazon (AMZN) is among the mega-cap technology stocks preparing to report its first quarter earnings on April 26th. The company is expected to report strong growth, both in its top and bottom line of results. Amazon has always been seen as a leader in future-oriented technologies, and analysts anticipate that trend continuing.
Last year’s earnings highlights included a 47% year-over-year jump in net sales, driven by record customer demand for their products and services, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), subscription services, and advertising revenues. Operating income was up 149% year-over-year to reach $8.2 billion. Analysts anticipate similar gains this quarter due to strong customer demand for Amazon’s cloud computing solutions, video streaming services from Prime Video, and growing interest in Alexa-enabled devices.
In addition to near term outlook for the company’s revenue growth drivers, investors will be keenly interested in longer term initiatives such as Gartner’s Meta Platforms concept that allows developers to create cross platform applications from Amazon, Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL) and other major tech giants. Furthermore, with their latest purchase of NextLink gleaning insights into physical layer 5G cognitive networking solutions could potentially play a part in Amazon’s future strategy surrounding the development of edge computing capabilities based on IoT concepts. There are sure to be many more surprises around the corner when it comes to how Amazon plans to leverage their innovative technology assets leading up to the 2019 holiday season so stay tuned!
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