October 26, 2020 BARRON’S 13
PREVIEW
GOOD SIGN FOR SOCIAL-MEDIA EARNINGS
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Monday 10/
F5 Networks,Hasbro,HCA Health-
care,National Oilwell Varco,Otis
Worldwide,SAP, andTwiliorelease
quarterly results.
The Census Bureaureports sales of
new single-family homes for Septem-
ber. Consensus estimate is for a
seasonally adjusted rate of one million
homes sold, roughly even with the
August figure. New-home sales are
now at their highest level since 2006.
Tuesday 10/
3M,Advanced Micro Devices,BP,
Caterpillar,Centene,Cummins,Eli
Lilly,Franklin Resources,Invesco,
Laboratory Corp. of America Hold-
ings,Merck,Microsoft,MSCI,No-
vartis,Pfizer,Raytheon Technolo-
gies, andS&P Globalreport earnings.
The Conference Boardreleases its
Consumer Confidence Index for Octo-
ber. Economists forecast a 101.5 read-
ing, just below the September data.
Consumer confidence increased
sharply in September, but remains
below prepandemic levels.
Wednesday 10/
Ameriprise Financial,Amgen,
Anthem,Automatic Data Process-
ing,Boeing,Cerner,CME Group,
eBay,Equinix,Etsy,Ford Motor,
General Dynamics,General Elec-
tric,Gilead Sciences,Mastercard,
Norfolk Southern,Pinterest,Ser-
viceNow,Sony,United Parcel Ser-
vice, andVisareport quarterly results.
Thursday 10/
Activision Blizzard,Alexion
Pharmaceuticals,American Tower,
Anheuser-Busch InBev,Borg-
Warner,CBRE Group,Comcast,
ConocoPhillips,DuPont,Intercon-
tinental Exchange,International
Paper,Kraft Heinz,MGM Resorts
International,Molson Coors Bev-
erage,Moody’s,Newmont,Royal
Dutch Shell,Sanofi, andTwitter
hold conference calls to discuss
earnings.
The Bank of Japanannounces its
monetary policy. The central bank is
widely expected to keep its short-
term interest rate unchanged at nega-
tive 0.1%.
The Bureau of EconomicAnalysis
reports its advance estimate for third-
quarter gross domestic product. Ex-
pectations are for a record expansion
at an annualized 30% rate after a re-
cord contraction of 31.4% in the
second quarter.
Friday 10/
AbbVie,Altria Group,Cboe Global
Markets,Charter Communications,
Chevron,Colgate-Palmolive,Exxon
Mobil,Honeywell International,
Phillips 66, andWeyerhaeuser
report quarterly results.
The BEA reportspersonal income
and expenditures for September.
Consensus estimates are for a 0.1%
month-over-month increase for in-
come and 1% gain in spending. This
compares with a 2.7% decline and 1%
rise, respectively, in August.
Coming Earnings
Consensus Estimate Year agoMAffiliated Managers (Q3 ) $2.84 $3.F5 Networks (Q4) 2.37 2.Hasbro (Q3) 1.62 1.T3M (Q3) 2.26 2.Aflac (Q3) 1.13 1.Akamai (Q3) 1.23 1.More Earnings on Page M32.Consensus Estimate
Day Consensus EstLast PeriodM September New Home Sales 1,000,000 1,011,T September Durable Orders 0.60% 0.55%October Consumer Confidence 101.5 101.TH Q3 GDP 30.0% -31.4%F September Personal Income 0.45% -2.7%October Michigan Sentiment - f 81.2 81.Unless otherwise indicated, times are Eastern. a-Advanced;
f-Final; p-Preliminary; r-Revised Source: FactSetFor more information about coming economic reports- and what they mean - go to Barron’s free Economic
Calendar at http://www.barrons.com
It’s a big day for tech, as many megacaps release
results. Four of the FAANGs—Facebook, Ama-
zon.com, Apple, and Google parent Alphabet—report after the market close.
Thursday
No Joke: Snap
Is for Real
SnapCEO Evan Spiegel has given investors plenty to guf-
faw over, from a failed foray into selling Spectacles, or cam-
era glasses, to a three-minute-long shareholder meeting. But
the joke at the social-media company may finally be over.
Last week, Spiegel’s advertising-driven platform smashed
third-quarter revenue expectations by more than $100 mil-
lion, reporting a loss of 14 cents a share on sales of $678.
million. Shares surged 55% on the week, as executives talked
about brand advertisers returning to the platform in droves,
with, in some cases, bigger budgets. As portents go for on-
line advertising recovering, these are good ones for next
week’s batch of earnings reports from social-media darlings
Pinterest,Twitter, andFacebook.
Facebook’s sales growth wasdamaged by ad pullbacks in
the past two quarters but rebounded swiftly. Its targeting
capabilities and reach have made it indispensable for adver-
tisers and those looking for immediate returns on invest-
ment through direct response.
However, in July, civil-rights groups organized a boycott
over Facebook’s inability to police hate speech. The effects
are unclear, but if there are any, they’ll show up in the third
quarter. The action attracted more than 1,000 brands,
including heavyweights such as Unilever and Coca-Cola.
Yet Facebook boasts millions of accounts, and most of its
business is from smaller clients.
Arguably the most proactive social-media content moder-
ator, Twitter, has gained 40% sinceBarron’swrote positively
about the stock in June. Hurt more than its peers by the pan-
demic’s effect on online ads, there is the potential for a sales
rebound—if Snap is more than an anomaly.—Max Cherney
Trending Down
FacebookandTwitterhaveseen
revenuegrowthfall,whichsome
predictwillcontinue.
Sources: Bloomberg; FactSet
Pandemic Pastime
Over the summer, the four major
social-media companies saw their
sharesoutperformtheS&P500.
Facebook and Twitter
Revenue Growth, 2017-
Social-Media Stocks
and S&P 500, Year to Date
2017 2018 2019 2020
0
25
50%
Snap
S&P 500
J F MAMJ J ASO
0
100
200% Pinterest
Est.Illustration by Elias Stein