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Earnings Calendar: June 19 – 23

A very quiet calendar this week as this earnings season reaches its very end but, don’t fret, the next one is just around the corner.

Please note that US markets are closed on Monday for the Juneteenth bank holiday. Delivery giant FedEx (FDX) and IT service provider and consultant Accenture (ACN) headline the US calendar for the remainder of the week.

British car and bike servicer Halfords is atop the agenda in the UK, having delayed its results that were originally due last week after its auditor need more time to run the numbers. Housebuilder Berkeley Group is also pencilled-in.

Below is a calendar outlining the key earnings we are watching next week:

FedEx stock: Q4 earnings preview

It has been an extremely tough year for FedEx, but markets believe it has reached a turning point and will see earnings rebound in the new financial year. The company has had to shake-up the way it works in response to the shifts in the market amid inflation-induced cost increases and softer freight demand. Wall Street forecasts revenue will be 7% lower than the year before at $22.7 billion in the fourth quarter while adjusted EPS is expected to plunge 29% to $4.88. Earnings have been under pressure all year while the decline in sales in the second half outweighed the gains seen in the first. That puts FedEx on course to report a 2.8% decline in annual sales and a 27.8% fall in adjusted EPS over the full year. The outlook for the new financial year is key. Markets are looking for adjusted EPS of $18.36 in the year to the end of May 2024. FedEx is currently trying to cut $6 billion in costs over the coming years and the speed of its progress could be behind any miss or beat.

Accenture stock: Q3 earnings preview

Accenture shares have risen over 21% since the start of the year despite suffering from a slowdown in growth. Raised guidance back in March provide hope there is more potential upside yet to be baked-in. Accenture is forecast to report a 2% rise in revenue to $16.5 billion and adjusted EPS is expected to rise 7.2% to $2.99. That will mark the slowest topline expansion in almost three years! New bookings have continued to hit record highs, providing some confidence that demand is still growing and that Accenture’s products and services are still attracting customers. Markets are looking for new bookings of $18.2 billion in the quarter. Accenture is also trying to cut costs, which may provide room for it to raise guidance again this year depending on how quickly it acts.

Halfords share price: FY earnings preview

Halfords was supposed to report results last week but delayed them after its auditor requested more time. Halfords reiterated that underlying pretax profits will be in-line with expectations, taking a potential negative surprise off the table. The car and bike repair outlet has improved its topline but has not fared so well at the bottom. Halfords is expected to report a 15.6% rise in annual revenue to £1.58 billion, driven by a more than doubling in sales from car servicing following a string of acquisitions that has made it the largest car servicer in the UK. But underlying pretax profit is forecast to plunge 40% to £53.8 million thanks to tighter margins in the inflationary environment and a rise in operating expenses, most notably a doubling in amortisation. Cost-cutting plans have advanced faster than expected, which bodes well for the new year. Yet, Halfords has said visibility is limited and that forecasting what to expect over the coming 12 months is ‘difficult’. It said earlier this year that it wasn’t expecting a recovery in spending on big-ticket, discretionary items but that services, which is now a core focus, should remain resilient. Analysts have a low bar and believe underlying pretax profit will be largely flat in the new financial year as higher costs continue to counter revenue growth and eat into earnings. That suggests Halfords would need to accelerate it cost-cutting program to impress this week.

Berkeley Group share price: FY earnings preview

Berkeley is held up better than rivals due to its focus on higher-end properties in London and surrounding areas. Analysts forecast Berkeley Group will report a 6.4% jump in both completions and revenue over the full year, suggesting it has proven more resilient to the pressure on prices. Pretax profit is expected to rise 8.5% to £598.6 million, showing strong cost control too. However, that may represent the peak for Berkeley. The results will come just before we hear the Bank of England’s latest interest rate decision as it struggles to get a grip over inflation. Interest rates keep climbing and are pushing mortgage rates higher and higher, casting a murky outlook for demand going forward. Investors are already nervous considering they are pencilling-in lower revenue and a sharp drop in earnings in the new financial year. Berkeley cut its guidance back in December but there is a risk of further downgrades given the current environment as higher rates, sticky inflation and an uncertain outlook with limited visibility all bite.

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