Earnings Previews: AT&T, Boeing, Coca-Cola

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No notable earnings reports were released late Friday or early Monday.

After U.S. markets close on Monday, Cadence Systems, Cleveland-Cliffs and NXP Semiconductor will release their quarterly earnings reports.

General Motors, NextEra Energy and Verizon are on deck to release their latest results first thing Tuesday morning, and look for reports from Alphabet, Microsoft and Visa later in the day.

Here is a look at three companies set to report quarterly results Wednesday morning.

AT&T

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) have dropped by more than 21% over the past 12 months, with the biggest share of that decline coming in 2023. The stock posted a new 52-week low last week.

Recent reports that Verizon and AT&T may be liable for potentially massive damages for leaving unused lead-wrapped transmission lines buried all over the country have sent litigation risks soaring and share prices plunging. And litigation risk translates into dividend risk. Because that is AT&T’s big attraction for shareholders, any threat to the generous dividend is relevant.

Sentiment on the stock remains cautious. Of 28 brokerages covering AT&T, 11 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating, while 15 have Hold ratings. At a recent price of around $15.00 a share, the implied upside based on a median price target of $20 is 33%. At the high price target of $28, the upside potential is about 86.7%.

Second-quarter revenue is forecast at $39.95 billion, which would be down 0.6% sequentially but up 1.0% year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are forecast at $0.60, up 0.4% sequentially and 7.7% lower year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year, EPS are expected to come in at $2.43, down 5.5%, on sales of $122.05 billion, up about 1.1%.

AT&T stock trades at 6.1 times 2023 EPS, 6.0 times estimated 2024 earnings of $2.48 and 6.0 times estimated 2025 earnings of $2.50. Its 52-week trading range is $13.43 to $22.84. AT&T’s current annual dividend is $1.11 (yield of 7.57%). Total shareholder return for the past 12 months was negative 15.96%.

Boeing

Before the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was flying high. Shares reached an all-time high of around $425. The company’s stock was absolutely hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic that hit in February 2020 and sent the stock to below $100 by late March. Getting back has been hampered by supply chain issues and more problems with the 777 and the 737.

With air travel currently in high demand from consumers, Boeing is ramping up production of its best-selling 737 with a plan to reach 45 per month by January. The Wall Street consensus calls for Boeing to post a GAAP profit for the 2023 fiscal year after combined losses of more than $15 in the past two years. Boeing’s outlook could carry a lot of weight.

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