3 Late-Season S&P 500 Earnings Reports That Could Dazzle

The S&P 500 is up approximately 8% so far this year and on pace to finish higher for a fifth consecutive month in March. Hopes for interest rate cuts are largely fueling the U.S. stock market’s drive to record highs. Despite Tuesday’s core CPI inflation data exceeding expectations, investors didn’t seem to care. Expectations for the Federal Reserve to soon cut benchmark rates to boost consumer and business activity remains high.  

A solid fourth quarter earnings season also significantly contributes to the S&P’s robust start in 2024. FactSet’s latest Earnings Insight update showed that 73% of S&P 500 companies have exceeded earnings expectations. The information technology sector has been the biggest source of outperformance while all 11 sectors have delivered more positive than negative EPS surprises. Such broad-based strength suggests that the current bull run has staying power. 

The current earnings period is coming to an end but there remains some noteworthy S&P 500 companies that have upcoming earnings releases.  

Here are a few of the stragglers that could announce consensus-topping profits of their own: 

Jabil (JBL)  

Jabil is scheduled to announce fiscal second quarter results before the market opens on March 15th. The global provider of electronics and diversified manufacturing services is off to a good start in fiscal 2024 after beating first quarter revenue and EPS estimates.  

However, management warned that Q2 would continue to see inventory corrections and anticipated a 10% decline in year-over-year revenue. With inventory headwinds expected to improve moving forward, the company’s second half outlook could be more important than beating EPS forecasts for a 16th straight quarter. 

Jabil’s involvement in the very hot AI cloud data center market positions it for growth over the longer-term. The shift of enterprises towards AI-powered data centers is expected to increase the demand for infrastructure manufacturing services. This transition is a catalyst for Jabil and offers a diversification of growth opportunities in areas such as vehicle electrification and connected healthcare, alongside its established businesses.  

Finally, Jabil’s stock still looks attractive despite a 17% increase in share price as it trades at just 14 times projected fiscal 2025 earnings. 

Carnival Corp. (CCL) 

Carnival will announce its fiscal first-quarter financials on March 25th. As the world’s largest cruise line by passenger volume, the company is on a hot streak, having beaten bottom-line expectations in each of the past four quarterly earnings reports.  

Although the stock has rebounded more than 160% from its October 2022 nadir, it has decreased by 13% in 2024. 

Aside from a healthy cruise demand environment, Carnival is benefitting from improved fleet efficiency. Over the last few years, it has added a dozen more fuel-efficient ships in place of older, less efficient ships. And with fuel prices well off their Fall 2023 peak, the combination of rising demand and moderating costs could make Wall Street’s $0.17 per share loss forecast look foolish.  

Last week, Stifel Nicholas raised its price target on Carnival stock to a Street-high $26.00 implying more than 60% upside from current levels. 

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) 

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) will put its 14-quarter streak of beating earnings expectations on the line when it reports fiscal fourth-quarter results on March 21st.  

Despite facing inventory challenges that are common across the apparel industry, Lululemon’s status as a premium brand serving affluent consumers has largely protected it from the need for significant price reductions. Consequently, the company’s earnings per share (EPS) saw a 32% increase in the first nine months of the current fiscal year.  

The fourth quarter typically benefits from the holiday shopping season so investors are hoping for Lululemon’s strong financial performance to blow past estimates. The company is expected to benefit from a record $222 billion in U.S. online sales in 2023, especially as Lululemon’s e-commerce sales surged by 18% in the third quarter, surpassing its general growth rate and potentially becoming a pivotal factor again.