Earnings season kicks off this week. It's mostly financial stocks checking in over the next few days, but they're not alone. Several big tech and consumer names will also be checking in with fresh financials. With market volatility already heightened, brace for the wild swings this season.
Netflix (NFLX 0.04%), ASML Holding (ASML +4.92%), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM +5.29%), PepsiCo (PEP 1.92%), and CarMax (KMX +0.74%) are five of the names reporting this week. Let's kick these tires before their upcoming earnings become yesterday's news.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Netflix
Netflix stock has beaten the market since walking away from its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. It also boosted its monthly subscription prices for U.S. viewers last month, a gutsy move that is easier to pull off when you don't have to play nice with antitrust regulators weighing approval for a major acquisition. Now it's showtime.
Netflix is routinely one of the first consumer tech companies to step up every earnings season. It will announce its first-quarter results on Thursday, shortly after the market close. It's not the only way that Netflix is a market leader. The shares have more than tripled over the past three years.
NASDAQ: NFLX
Key Data Points
Don't expect the two events mentioned earlier to play much of a factor in the financial update. The stateside price hikes for its ad-free and ad-supported tiers didn't go into effect until March 26, so it won't provide much of a boost to the first quarter. The end of the Warner Bros. Discovery deal was accompanied by a $2.8 billion termination penalty coming to Netflix, but the market overlooks these one-time windfalls when sizing up quarterly performances.
Back in January, Netflix guidance called for a record $12.5 billion in revenue for the first quarter, a 15% year-over-year increase. After three years of accelerating top-line growth, the business is stabilizing here in the mid-teens. It's targeting net income of $0.76 a share for the first three months of this year, a 13% increase. It will likely be the second-quarter guidance that ultimately moves Netflix shares higher or lower in Friday's trading session.
NASDAQ: ASML
Key Data Points
2. ASML Holding
This isn't just another chip stock off the old block. ASML is a unique provider of manufacturing equipment for the semiconductor industry. It's the only supplier of high-end extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, colossal and pricey machines that help other companies produce small but power-efficient chips. The Netherlands-based company also cranks out deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems.
The surge in memory prices has pushed many pick-and-shovel plays higher, and ASML is no exception. The stock has more than doubled over the past year. This naturally heightens expectations for ASML's first-quarter results on Wednesday. Analysts see growth in the low double digits on both ends of its income statement. This may seem like modest growth for a surging stock, but the business is expected to accelerate as 2026 plays out.
NYSE: TSM
Key Data Points
3. Taiwan Semiconductor
TSMC stock is another chip stock that has more than doubled over the past year. It's the world's largest foundry and currently the sixth-most valuable U.S. exchange-listed company, with a $1.9 trillion market cap. It posted better-than-expected quarterly results last time.
It offers up select monthly results early the following month, so we already know that TSMC will report a 35% increase in revenue for this week's quarterly announcement. This is shaping up to be the fifth consecutive year of top-line growth above 30%. It doesn't provide monthly bottom-line numbers, but there has to be a little mystery in every relationship. TSMC will step up with its earnings on Thursday.
4. PepsiCo
As the parent company of Frito-Lay, you could say PepsiCo is also a chip stock. It's understandably been a more mortal performer over the past year. The beverage and salty snacks giant has seen its shares rise a modest 9% over the past year.
This isn't a growth business. PepsiCo has delivered just one year of double-digit sales growth over the past 14 years. It still manages to deliver a growing dividend to its shareholders. When it boosted its quarterly payout in February, it stretched its streak of hikes to 54 years. Its current yield of 3.6% is higher than most money market account offerings right now. It reports on Thursday morning.
5. CarMax
Shifting gears, CarMax will be the first of these five companies to report this week. The country's largest seller of used autos, with more than 250 locations nationwide, will announce its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Tuesday morning.
CarMax is expected to cap off its third straight fiscal year of declining sales. Big-ticket purchases are hard to justify when consumers have economic concerns. The recent spike in gas prices can't help. CarMax offers some stability as a seller of cheaper secondhand cars, but it's been a challenging couple of years for the industry. Is CarMax still driving in reverse? Investors will find out soon.
