Costco, AutoZone, Oracle and Adobe are part of Zacks Earnings Preview

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – March 10, 2025 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Costco COST, AutoZone AZO, Oracle ORCL and Adobe (ADBE).Previewing the 2025 Q1 Earnings SeasonThe recent Costco and AutoZone quarterly releases kick-started the 2025 Q1 earnings season. We have another four S&P 500 members on deck to report Q1 results this week, including Oracle on Monday, March 10th, and Adobe on Wednesday, March 12th.The earnings reports from Costco and AutoZone, as well as this week's reports from Oracle and Adobe, are for their respective fiscal quarters ending in February, which we and other research organizations count as part of the overall March-quarter, or Q1 tally. By the time the big banks come out with their quarterly results about a month from now, we will have such Q1 results from almost two dozen S&P 500 members.Regular readers of our earnings commentary are familiar with our favorable view of corporate profitability. The growth pace has been steadily accelerating in recent quarters, with the preceding quarter's +14.6% earnings growth rate (+17.3% on an ex-Energy basis) reaching its highest level in three years.We believe these favorable growth trends will remain in place in the current and coming quarters, with the sectors contributing to the growth momentum expanding beyond the Tech core of the last couple of years.We are mindful of the potential negative macroeconomic effects of policy uncertainty, which appears to have also started showing up in some of the sentiment measures. The guidance downgrades from several retailers in recent days, where they cited tariffs and other sources of uncertainty, could very well be an early sign of a downshift in the earnings picture. We have been experiencing a relatively elevated magnitude of negative revisions to estimates for the current period (2025 Q1) even before the more recent signs of weakness in data, as we will share here a little later.The expectation is that Q1 earnings will be up +6.2% from the same period last year on +3.8% higher revenues, which would follow the +14.6% earnings growth on +5% revenue gains in the preceding period.As noted earlier, there have been more negative revisions to Q1 estimates since the start of January compared to the comparable periods of the preceding few quarters. Not only is the magnitude of negative revisions to Q1 estimates more pronounced relative to the last few quarters, but it is also more widespread.Since the start of the period in January, estimates have come down for 14 of the 16 Zacks sectors, with the biggest declines for the Conglomerates, Autos, Basic Materials, Aerospace, Consumer Discretionary, and others.Medical and Construction are the two sectors whose Q1 estimates have increased since the quarter got underway.The Tech sector, whose estimates have consistently been positive over the past year, is also suffering negative revisions to Q1 estimates. Optimism about the AI investment cycle suffered a psychological blow following China's DeepSeek announcement. The resulting shift in market sentiment has weighed on the space ever since, causing the underperformance of AI-focused stocks this year.Oracle is expected to report $1.48 per share in earnings on $14.36 billion in revenues, representing year-over-year changes of +5% and +8.1%, respectively. Estimates have been stable over the past month, but have declined relative to where they were two- and three-months back. Oracle has emerged as a major player in the AI space itself, which accounts for the stock's recent underperformance. Looking at the stock's performance over a more extended period, Oracle shares are still standout outperformers.Unlike Oracle, Adobe shares have held up better in the ongoing market pullback, but have otherwise been laggards over the past year. Over the past year, Adobe shares are down -18.9% vs. a +38.1% gain for Oracle, a +13.1% gain for the S&P 500 index, and an +11.1% gain for the Zack Tech sector. Adobe shares were down following the last two quarterly releases; estimates have stabilized since the quarter began.A lot will be riding on the evolving earnings expectations for the Tech sector, which has been a pillar of growth over the last two years. The expectation is for Q1 earnings for the sector to be up +12.5% from the same period last year on +10% higher revenues, which will follow the sector's +26.3% earnings in the preceding period.For a detailed look at the overall earnings picture, including expectations for the coming periods, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report >>>> Analyzing Retail Earnings in a High-Tariff Economy Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.See Stocks Free >>Media ContactZacks Investment Research800-767-3771 ext. 9339support@zacks.comhttps://www.zacks.comZacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Oracle Corporation (ORCL): Free Stock Analysis Report Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis Report Adobe Inc. (ADBE): Free Stock Analysis Report AutoZone, Inc. (AZO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks