The Week Ahead: Pfizer, Facebook, Google, and Apple to Report Earnings

The week ahead is stacked with earnings reports across all sectors. Pfizer PFE is expected to report on Tuesday, followed by Facebook FB on Wednesday, and Alphabet GOOGL and Apple AAPL on Thursday.

Pfizer and partner BioNTech BNTX have released strong phase 1 data from their vaccine trials. Once the companies decide which of the four potential vaccines to pursue, phase 3 could begin by the end of the month. This pharmaceutical giant holds a competitive advantage over others in the industry with its strong cash flows, broad portfolio of patent-protected drugs, and wide economic moat. We anticipate a safe, effective vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech by the end of 2020.

We will also be awaiting reports from Starbucks SBUX, McDonald’s MCD, Visa V, 3M MMM, and Altria Group MO on Tuesday.

With 2.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook holds the title of being the largest social network in the world. Their scope continues to grow as the wide-moat company provides more features and apps to keep users engaged in the Facebook experience. The coronavirus’ hit to digital ad sales was softer than expected, and we predict digital ad spending to increase during the second half of the year.

Boeing BA, T. Rowe Price Group TROW, Enterprise Products Partners EPD, and General Electric GE are also on our radar for Wednesday.

As the dominant search engine, we believe Google will continue its reign in the online search market. The firm’s name and cash flows grow stronger as more users engage and more advertisers seek to use Google’s online ad space. Digital ads have withstood the coronavirus better than others, and we expect Google to attract more advertisers.

Apple’s expertise in packaging hardware, software, and services sets it apart from the competitors in the technology sector. Although the narrow-moat company’s strengths can be found in the increased engagement from users in the app store, video, music, and cloud services, Apple will feel the impact of the decreases in Apple care and advertising sales. The company’s supply and demand will also feel the impact of the coronavirus for the rest of 2020.

We also expect to see reports from Ford Motor Co F, Anheuser Busch BUD, Mastercard MA, and Procter & Gamble PG on Thursday. AbbVie ABBV and Merck & Co MRK are expected to report on Friday.