U.S. Equity Investors Are Gearing Up for Earnings Season

Earnings season occurs four times a year and refers to the stretch when the majority of the most followed companies report earnings.

Four times a year, U.S. equity investors prepare for earnings season, which begins when the majority of the most followed companies report earnings. These reports include information on sales, profits, expenses, and, most importantly, forward guidance.

Earnings season is critical for investors to follow the market closely because earnings often set the tone for stock moves over the next quarter. Furthermore, even if an investor is not participating in a stock before earnings, stocks usually provide investors with opportunity post-earnings.

Below are three earnings previews for tech reports that will answer critical questions for each:

Tesla: EPS Due 10/23

Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock Tesla (TSLA) shares are entering earnings on a sour note after the stock dropped more than 12% last week after the company’s highly anticipated “Robotaxi” event. Though investors often discount the future, shares likely sold off due to the Robotaxi timelines being too far in the future (2027). However, Wall Street can also be a game of “what have you done for me lately?”

Tesla EPS: What to Watch

Cybertruck Sales Guidance

Cybertruck, Tesla’s wild and obnoxious SUV, is off to a fantastic start, ranking as the third best-selling electric vehicle (EV) in the Q3. If Elon Musk and the Tesla team forecast that the Cybertruck momentum will continue, it will be a bullish sign for the stock.

Can Tesla Benefit from a China Recovery?

Recently, the Chinese government announced sweeping stimulus measures after the country suffered years of economic stagnation. China is an integral piece of the puzzle for Tesla investors to consider. Last quarter, Tesla’s Chinese EV sales grew for the first time in months.

TSLA EPS: It’s All About Expectations

Tesla has fallen short of Wall Street estimates for four consecutive quarters. If TSLA can surpass Zacks Consensus Estimates, it will drove to Wall Street that the company has turned the corner.

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Super Micro Computer: EPS Due 10/29

Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock Super Micro Computer (SMCI) designs and manufactures high-performance servers and storage systems for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. Over the past few years, SMCI’s earnings have exploded as the AI arms race takes hold of Wall Street.

Hindenburg Research Report Slams SMCI

From January to March, SMCI shares quadrupled as the AI hype took over Wall Street. Since then, the stock has roundtripped those gains, and now Hindenburg Research, a short-selling firm, is coming after the company. In late August, Hindenburg Research accused SMCI of “glaring accounting red flags.” The next day, SMCI delayed its annual report filing (10K), sending shares plummeting. To Hindenburg’s credit, the company has previously uncovered some fantastic short opportunities, like the EV maker Nikola.

However, investors should take those results with a grain of salt for two reasons. First, Hindenburg takes a short position before announcing its claims to the public, providing Hindenburg with a clear incentive to bash the company. Second, though Hindenburg’s short reports often lead to short-term weakness, they don’t always spell the end of the road. For example, Hindenburg came after Adani Group, an Indian multinational company, in 2022. The bad press resulted in a market cap drop from $206 to ~$100 billion. However, by 2024, Adani had recovered its losses.

SMCI: A Short Squeeze Candidate?

If SMCI can report a clean bill of health on its next earnings report, it has a chance to squeeze higher. Short interest in the stock has increased nearly 1,000% versus September while shares cleared the 50-day moving average for the first time since July.

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Coinbase: EPS Due 10/30

Coinbase Global (COIN) is the largest crypto exchange operator in the United States. Coinbase shares have been gaining momentum since the start of 2023 as crypto asset prices rise, global adoption of crypto increases, and its USDC stablecoin gains in popularity.

Crypto ETFs

Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas pointed out that “Bitcoin ETFs have crossed $20 billion in total net flows (the most important number and most difficult metric to grow in the ETF world) for the first time after a huge week of $1.5 billion. For context, it took gold ETFs about 5 years to reach the same number.” Because Coinbase is the custodial exchange for popular ETFs like the iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) and the brand-new iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), investors will look to see how much these ETFs are helping the business.

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