FedEx Stock: Will FDX Earnings Deliver the Goods?
Our preview of the upcoming week's earnings reports includes FedEx (FDX), Adobe (ADBE) and Darden Restaurants (DRI).


We're at the tail end of earnings season and the list of names reporting this week is thin. Still, of those remaining on the earnings calendar, results from shipping giant FedEx (FDX, $246.79) will certainly be in focus amid global supply-chain disruptions.
The stock has struggled on the charts since peaking near the $320 per-share mark in late May. However, since bottoming at a 52-week low around $216 in early October, FDX is up roughly 14%.
Can a solid earnings report keep the wind at FedEx's back?

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The company is slated to report its fiscal second-quarter results after Thursday's close. Analysts, on average, are calling for earnings of $4.25 per share, down 12% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis. Revenue, meanwhile, is expected to arrive at $22.44 billion, an 8.9% improvement over the year prior.
Baird Research analyst Garrett Holland has an Outperform (Buy) rating on FedEx ahead of earnings. "Quarter-to-date trends have been tracking largely as expected as supply-chain challenges have weighed on volume growth," he says.
But pricing strength remains strong and could be further elevated should COVID-19 disruptions – most recently the omicron variant – continue in 2022, he adds. As such, he remains an "opportunistic buyer of transports."
Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker isn't so sure. He has an Equal Weight rating on FDX, which is the equivalent of a Hold.
Shanker thinks that while "an ongoing recovery and strong consumer should remain supportive of topline results," he expects FedEx to report adjusted earnings of $3.84 per share – below the consensus estimate – as "labor availability issues that weighed on results last quarter are likely to remain both a productivity and cost headwind."
He also believes the cuts FDX made last quarter to its full-year guidance were not steep enough and sees "risks to fiscal second-quarter and fiscal 2022 numbers as pandemic tailwinds die down."
For the full fiscal year, Shanker is targeting for earnings per share (EPS) of $18.49, which is lower than analysts' consensus estimate for earnings of $19.62 per share.
Bullish Analyst Eyes "Healthy Upside" for Adobe Earnings
Adobe (ADBE, $642.38) will also step into the earnings confessional after Thursday's close to unveil results for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Analysts are certainly upbeat toward ADBE. Of the 31 pros following the stock tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 18 have a Strong Buy rating, eight call it a Buy and five say Hold.
One of those with a Buy rating is Mizuho Securities analyst Gregg Moskowitz. Looking ahead to earnings, he believes the maker of Photoshop and Acrobat "is very well-positioned to benefit from digital transformation with its highly comprehensive end-to-end offering that differentiates it from competitors and should enable it to drive more holistic sales across its clouds."
He cites favorable quarterly checks from the research firm that he thinks will lead to "healthy upside" to Street estimates.
As for those Street estimates, the pros, on average, are projecting a 19.3% year-over-year pop in revenue to $4.09 billion. This should fuel a 13.9% rise in earnings to $3.20 per share, they say.
Analysts See Strong Earnings Growth for Darden Restaurants
Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants (DRI, $151.65) is the lone name reporting earnings on Friday, with its fiscal second-quarter results due out ahead of the open.
The company reported stronger-than-anticipated earnings and revenue in September, sending its stock up 6.1% in reaction – and to (what was at the time) a new record closing high of $159.50.
"We are growing more confident in Olive Garden's sales upside potential and DRI's apparent better visibility into inflation outlook is encouraging," said BMO Research analyst Andrew Strelzik after the report was released. However, he maintained his Market Perform (Hold) rating, saying "a balanced risk/reward keeps us on the sidelines."
Since its last earnings report, DRI stock's performance on the chart has been choppy, though shares are currently up 10% for the month-to-date.
Another positive earnings report could help Darden Restaurants end the year on a high note. For the company's fiscal first quarter, the consensus estimates are for earnings of $1.44 per share (+94.6% YoY) and revenue of $2.23 billion, a 134.4% improvement over its year-ago results.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is an investing editor and options expert at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
As Cable Companies Move into Mobile, Customers Benefit: The Kiplinger Letter
The Kiplinger Letter The new cable bundle — home internet and mobile — is gaining steam. And the competition means good news for consumers.
By John Miley Published
-
BNPL Sector Faces Financial and Regulatory Challenges
The Kiplinger Letter BNPL companies are facing the challenges of high costs, tightening financial conditions and regulatory scrutiny.
By Rodrigo Sermeño Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Struggle, Apple Reclaims $3 Trillion Market Cap Mark
Apple quietly reclaimed the $3 trillion market cap level Tuesday amid a choppy day for the main indexes.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Slip to Start Jobs Week
Coming off a fifth straight weekly win, the main indexes took a breather ahead of a busy week of jobs data.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing Higher After Powell Speech
Fed Chair Powell poured cold water on potential rate cuts, but stocks jumped anyway.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Jumps 520 Points After Salesforce Earnings
The enterprise network software firm reported impressive Q3 results, sending the blue chip stock soaring.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Give Back GDP Gains After Beige Book
The latest GDP report showed the U.S. economy grew at a rapid-fire rate in the third quarter, but the Fed's Beige Book sparked concerns.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Struggle for Direction After Mixed Fed Messages
E-commerce platform PDD Holdings jumped after earnings, while rival Shein reportedly filed confidential IPO paperwork.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Lower on Cyber Monday
The main indexes were choppy to start the week, though several e-commerce stocks jumped on encouraging online holiday shopping numbers.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Keep Their Weekly Win Streak Alive
The main indexes closed mixed Friday, though all three nabbed a fourth straight weekly gain.
By Karee Venema Published