Amazon Earnings Top 5 Things You Need To Know For Thursday
On slate for Thursday are quarterly earnings reports from Amazon ( AMZN ), LinkedIn ( LNKD ), Baidu ( BIDU ) and Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) after the close. Before the market open, investors will get their first look at first-quarter economic growth. Amazon The e-commerce giant is expected to earn 58 cents a share in Q1, swinging to a profit from a 12-cent loss last year. Revenue is projected to climb 23% to $27.99 billion. Last quarter, Amazon fell well short of earnings estimates and came up light on revenue, sending shares down as much as 32% from their high in the following weeks. But its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services, is a bright spot. It hauled in $2.4 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 69% year over year. Shares are flirting with being within the lower boundary of a buy range from a cup-with-handle base with a 603.34 buy point, which it initially broke out of a few weeks ago. Amazon fell 1.7% to 606.57 after falling to 601.28 intraday. LinkedIn The professional social network’s earnings are projected to grow 5% to 60 cents ex items, a sharp drop from the 54% growth that it saw in the prior quarter. Revenue is expected to jump 30% to $828.5 million. Shares dropped 44% on LinkedIn’s last quarterly report, which showed weak Q1 guidance. LinkedIn stock has climbed off of its low, reached in the following days, and is now trading 54% below its 52-week high. Facebook Social networking leader Facebook ( FB ) crushed Q1 earnings and revenue projections late Wednesday, sending shares up 9% in late trade. If Facebook’s positive action continues into Thursday’s session, the stock will likely be in buy range from a cup-with-handle base with a 117.09 buy point. Baidu China Internet giant Baidu is projected to see Q1 EPS ex items fall 11% to 5.96 RMB (92 cents). Revenue is estimated to rise 24% to 15.83 billion RMB ($2.4 billion). Baidu’s mobile ecosystem is strong, according to ITG Research analyst Henry Guo. He said this week that his firm’s data indicates “that Baidu’s Mobile Search app dominates the mobile search market with more than 23% installation penetration among Chinese mobile users, well ahead of its key competitors Sogou Search (1.7%) and Qihoo 360 Technology ( QIHU ) Search (0.2%).” Baidu is trading just below buy range from a cup-with-handle base that it broke out of recently. It’s trading 13% below its 52-week high. Gilead Sciences The biotech’s earnings are estimated to rise 6% to $3.13 a share, slower than last quarter’s 37% growth. Revenue is seen rising 7% to $8.1 billion, also a deceleration from the prior quarter. Comparisons are getting tougher after Gilead earnings and sales skyrocketed on hepatitis C treatments. Gilead retook its 200-day line last week but breached that level in Wednesday’s session. Shares are trading 18% below their 52-week high. Fellow big-cap biotech Amgen ( AMGN ) also reports quarterly results Thursday, with analysts expected a 5% EPS gain. Amgen, which fell 1.1% to 161 on Thursday is near a buy point at 165.33 in cup-shaped base. Before the market open, biotechs Alexion Pharmaceuticals ( ALXN ) and Celgene ( CELG ) report, along with big pharma Bristol-Myers Squibb ( BMY ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ) makes a rival hepatitis C treatment. Q1 GDP After Q4’s OK but not great 1.4% gain, coupled with ongoing issues regarding a strong dollar, weak energy sector and sluggish manufacturing, weak growth is expected in Q1. Wall Street expects a scant 0.7% annualized gain.