Stocks inched higher last week, continuing a rally that's pushed both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.11%) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.02%) up by nearly 20% so far in 2017.
We're still firmly in earnings season, with hundreds of companies set to report third-quarter results over the next few trading days. Below, we'll look at a few of the most anticipated announcements, from TripAdvisor (TRIP 0.11%), Disney (DIS 0.18%), and NVIDIA (NVDA -3.33%).
TripAdvisor's mobile monetization
TripAdvisor posts its results before the market opens on Tuesday. The online travel booking specialist disappointed investors at its last update when it announced that revenue in its core hotel segment declined. TripAdvisor also suffered a profitability hit as users abandoned its desktop platform in favor of the mobile version.
The shift is a long-term positive for the business, but it will continue hurting results as the company works to improve mobile monetization. That challenge, plus a softer advertising market and spiking competition, had CEO Steve Kaufer and his executive team projecting weak growth over the next few quarters. They're hoping that upgrades to the hotel-shopping platform, in addition to a new national marketing campaign, will help keep sales moving in the right direction while TripAdvisor investors in longer-term growth bets like its booming attraction-booking business.
Disney's media business
Disney investors haven't found much to celebrate in the fiscal year that Disney is set to close on Thursday. Its media business is shrinking under the weight of subscriber losses at ESPN and lower demand for broadcast TV entertainment. Both its studio and consumer products divisions are down this year, too, as the House of Mouse struggles to match a record 2016 year at theaters.
On the bright side, the parks and resorts segment has been a standout performer as attendance stays strong at domestic parks while the new Shanghai resort builds on its successful launch.
Image source: Disney.
CEO Bob Iger and his team will likely discuss big plans for that park as it approaches its second peak season. Disney's results should also show the beginnings of a rebound in the consumer products segment as its merchandise flows to retailers around the world ahead of the holiday season. The film division, meanwhile, could have a much better 2018 thanks to several Marvel movies, highly anticipated releases from Pixar and Disney Animation. The studio business gets the ball rolling with the global release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in mid-December.
NVIDIA's growth forecast
NVIDIA's soaring stock price gains this year reflect the semiconductor giant's booming operating growth. Sales rose 52% in the first two quarters of fiscal 2017 and the company generated over $1 billion of net income -- or more than twice its result from the prior-year period.
Image source: Getty Images.
NVIDIA's core gaming business has led the way, but investors are even more excited about the long-term potential for its tech to find a home in emerging tech arenas like self-driving cars, computer vision, and artificial intelligence. NVIDIA is winning prime market positioning in these areas today thanks to engineering and design wins like its new blisteringly fast Volta processor aimed at the AI niche.
Investors are expecting more good news from the company when it posts earnings on Thursday. NVIDIA's official forecast calls for $2.35 billion of revenue for a 17% improvement, year over year. Gross profit margin should be about 59% of sales, on par with the third-quarter record the company set a year ago.
Shares are likely to be volatile as the company looks ahead to its fiscal fourth quarter and provides an updated forecast. With the stock almost doubling since the beginning of the year, shareholders might demand an aggressive outlook to keep that momentum going.
