Equity market investors ignored all the political drama unfolding in Washington this past week as they bet on bigger stimulus checks coming up after the Democrats took control of both chambers of the US Congress after the Georgia runoff resulted in a blue wave.
President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office in just ten days, vowed that larger fiscal relief payments would be delivered to Americans if the Democrats won the Senate runoff in Georgia. Confirming that possibility, in a televised address on Friday, Biden said a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report showed the need for more economic stimulus is "now."
With a more robust economic relief package looking yet more certain, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ both hit intraday record highs during Friday's session. Amid this optimism, earnings season kicks off. Investors will be getting the latest quarterly earnings reports from some of the largest Wall Street companies beginning this coming week.
Below, we've short-listed three stocks from different sectors which we’re monitoring as Q4 earnings season starts:
1. JPMorgan Chase
Wall Street’s powerhouse commercial and investment bank, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), will report fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, Jan. 15, before the market open. Analysts are expecting $2.42 a share profit on sales of $28.02 billion.
One of the most important numbers to watch in these earnings is the loan-loss provision, which will indicate whether the lender is coming back to normal after the pandemic-driven hit on earnings. Indeed, there's hardly any segment of the banking business which hasn’t suffered in the wake of the global pandemic. Interest rates have fallen to near zero as the Fed unleashed unprecedented monetary stimulus, in order to fuel growth, while consumers have drastically cut spending—the main engine of US economic expansion over the past decade.
Amid these shocks, some banks have been able to perform better than others, especially those with diversified operations. JPM posted a surprise increase in earnings in Q3, fueled by a 30% jump in revenue from markets, as surging stock prices increased trading volumes. JPM stock closed on Friday at $136.02, after fully recovering from losses it suffered during the pandemic.
2. Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) will report Q4 earnings on Thursday, Jan. 14 before the market open. On average, analysts are expecting a loss of $2.42 a share on sales of $3.81 billion.
The global airline industry is trying to stage a comeback after a brutal 2020 in which air traffic plunged amid the surging COVID-19 infections. Delta Air CEO, in a new year’s memo, told employees that the carrier continues to aim for positive cash flows by the spring in a “year of recovery.”
Still, Ed Bastian warned that travel demand will remain “deeply depressed” initially, with the company’s focus on health and safety for passengers. A “significant” resumption of travel, particularly for business, will come when vaccines become widely available, he said in a memo.
“While I am optimistic this will be a year of recovery, the continued uncertainty of the pandemic means we’ll need to be nimble, ready to adjust our course and adapt to an ever-changing environment.”
Shares of Delta Air closed on Friday at $40.02, after gaining 48% during the past six months.
3. Tesla Motors
After rising more than 20% during the first week of 2021, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) continues to remain the most sought after stock in the market. The powerful upward move that started this past spring has pushed Tesla shares about 800% higher in the past year, making the company's founder and CEO Elon Musk the richest man on earth.
He notched that title this past week from Amazon.com's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Jeff Bezos. Musk's net worth totaled around $195 billion Thursday, up from roughly $30 billion a year ago. That sum now exceeds Bezos’ wealth by about $10 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Musk’s wealth accelerated as his electric vehicle company blew past several key milestones, was added to the S&P 500 Index and benefited from a growing view among consumers and market watchers that electric cars will dominate the future auto industry.
After last week’s advance, Tesla’s market capitalization stands at about $837 billion. Tesla rose 8% on Friday to close at an all-time high of $880.02.