These Are the Stocks to Watch Next Week

The stock market dealt with another loss this week, closing Friday's session with modest losses on the day that added to weakness earlier on. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.98%), S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.46%), and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.64%) remain well below their levels in late 2021, and investor sentiment showed few signs of reversing to a more positive slant.

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

There have been many factors weighing on stocks, but one thing that has been evident during the current earnings season is that investors aren't forgiving even when companies have reasonably solid financial performance. In the coming week, investors will see what programmatic advertising specialist The Trade Desk (TTD -0.54%) and entertainment and media giant Disney (DIS -1.01%) have to say about their respective business conditions during the most recent quarter. Here's a preview about what they're likely to disclose and whether their share prices can rebound from recent losses.

Image source: Getty Images.

The Trade Desk looks for a boost

The Trade Desk is scheduled to release its first-quarter financial results on Tuesday. With its share price down by more than half in the past six months and 11% on Friday alone, investors in the ad tech stock  will be looking for signs that the feared drop in advertising activity won't materialize to the extent some bearish analysts anticipate.

Investors still expect The Trade Desk to put up solid growth in key metrics. Sales are likely to rise 39% to $305 million, while adjusted earnings gains could be limited but still positive, with a projected $0.01 per share rise to $0.15.

The challenge, though, is that even results that match those projections might seem disappointing. Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021 came to $396 million, and adjusted earnings were $0.42 per share. Admittedly, there's greater demand for advertising during the holiday season than in the winter months in the U.S., but many stocks have gotten punished when they show any signs of a slowdown, no matter how justified.

Even after the massive drop, moreover, it's important to remember that Trade Desk shares are up roughly tenfold from where they were just four years ago. That could help put any further share-price declines in perspective and help long-term investors keep their focus on business performance.

Can Disney make shareholders smile?

Meanwhile, shares of Disney were down again on Friday, falling 2%. The media and entertainment giant should release its latest results on Wednesday, and many are concerned about the challenges the House of Mouse faces in some key business categories.

Broadly speaking, investors are hoping that Disney can keep showing progress in bouncing back from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenue of $18.75 billion would be up about 20% year over year, while earnings of $1.06 per share could be an even more dramatic improvement compared to year-earlier numbers.

Yet Disney is complicated right now. On one hand, theme parks and cruise lines are looking to bounce back, as pent-up demand to visit its properties starts to show up in actual results. On the other, signs that interest in streaming video services could be starting to plateau is bad news for the company's Disney+ service, on which it has counted to help it make a successful transition away from cable-based programming.

Investors had high hopes for a Disney recovery last summer, but the stock has since fallen 40%. If better-than-expected results finally convince shareholders that Disney will bounce back fully, then regaining much of that lost ground could be on the table during the remainder of 2022.