Another earnings season is on the horizon, and throughout the reporting period, as we do each quarter, we'll be on the lookout for opportunities from companies reporting earnings triple plays. While we're waiting for the fresh batch of reports, we wanted to provide a quick update on triple-play trends from 2023. As a reminder, an earnings triple play is a company that reports earnings and manages to 1) beat analyst EPS estimates, 2) beat analyst sales estimates, and 3) raise forward guidance.

In 2023, there were a total of 560 earnings triple plays during the year, and the average one-day performance of the companies reporting them was a gain of 6.10%. Within those 560 reports, 32 companies managed to report three or more triple-plays, six of which had four triple-play reports in the calendar year. Below is a complete list of all the companies that fit the bill of at least three triple plays in 2023. It’s important to note that just because a company beats estimates and raises guidance doesn’t necessarily mean its stock will rally. As shown, several names in this list are down on the year, regardless of their strong earnings relative to expectations. In total, 130 of the 560 triple plays were accompanied by negative returns on the stock's earnings reaction day.

Tech stocks had the biggest turnout on the list, accounting for over 40% of the names listed. Consumer Discretionary followed but had only half as many names as Technology (7) followed by Health Care (4), Consumer Staples (3), Industrials (3), and Financials with one. Of the fourteen tech stocks listed, four had triple plays every earnings season this year.

Two notable names on this list include DraftKings (DKNG) and Duolingo (DUOL). Both stocks were up more than 200% in 2023, and both beat EPS and revenue estimates in every earnings report of the year. If not for inline guidance once each, they’d both be joining the club of four 2023 triple plays too.

Zooming in on the six companies to report triple plays every earnings season in 2023, the triple play kings, all but one significantly outperformed the S&P 500 in 2023. Excluding Clear Secure (YOU), each of the five others at least doubled the performance of the S&P. The most impressive of course has been NVIDIA (NVDA) which ripped 239% in 2023, followed by e.l.f Beauty (ELF) which also doubled. Collectively, on an equal-weighted basis, the six stocks were up just over 100% on the year.

The chart below features points to mark each earnings report of the six triple play kings, and below that we have included a table showing each stock's earnings reaction day performance to their report. The second quarter was particularly strong in terms of earnings day reactions as triple plays from NVDA and ELF led to gains of 24.4% and 20.5%, respectively on 5/25. Again, it’s worth mentioning that strong earnings don’t necessarily guarantee share price gains. Zscaler (ZS), although more than doubling in 2023, reported a triple play in March that resulted in an 11% pullback. On a broader scale, YOU fell more than 20% on the year despite reporting four triple plays. Not even NDVA could avoid a negative reaction to a triple play when it fell 2.46% following its last earnings report. In fact, besides ELF every one of the ‘triple play kings’ listed had at least one down day in reaction to a triple play earnings report this year.

Those were the triple-play kings of 2023. Will they retain their crowns in 2024? Or will a new crop of earnings royalty emerge to form a new empire? We'll start to find out in the next few weeks. Happy New Year!

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