Google, Yahoo And LinkedIn: Who Can Beat Earnings Expectations?

• Three Internet giants are on deck to share their latest earnings results this week.
• Analysts are looking for strong earnings growth from Google-parent Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL and LinkedIn Corp LNKD.
• Expectations for Yahoo! Inc. YHOO are considerably more pessimistic.

With a dreadful January behind us, the earnings crunch rolls on this week, and among the highlights will be the latest quarterly results from Internet giants Alphabet, LinkedIn and Yahoo.

Hopes are high for Google and LinkedIn, judging by the consensus forecasts of Wall Street analysts. If they don't disappoint, then February could be off to a good start for their shareholders. LinkedIn in particular is looking to extent a string of earnings beats. But for Yahoo, it is a different story, not helped by the fact that earnings have not topped expectations in recent quarters.

Below is a quick look at what is expected from these three reports, as well as a peek at some others.

Google

In its report late Monday, the company now known as Alphabet is expected to report that fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) came to $8.17, according to 352 Estimize respondents. That would be up from the $6.76 per share in the year-ago period. The Wall Street estimate remains at $8.10 per share.

The Estimize consensus sees revenue totaling $16.90 billion for the quarter. That is more pessimistic than the more than 14 percent year-on-year rise to $20.77 billion predicted by Wall Street, which also sees full-year revenue up sharply to $74.42 billion, with EPS up more than 13 percent to $28.97.

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LinkedIn

The Wall Street forecast calls for this professional network operator to post fourth-quarter EPS of $0.78 (17 cents higher than a year ago) and for revenue to have risen more than 33 percent to $857.59 million. The full-year estimates are $2.69 per share (up about 25 percent) on $2.99 billion (up more than 34 percent).

The 131 Estimize respondents see things a little differently: EPS of $0.82 and revenue of $864.39 million for the three months that ended in December. Note that EPS and revenue topped the Estimize forecasts in the past two periods. LinkedIn will share its latest results after Thursday's closing bell.

Yahoo

The consensus of 130 estimates from Estimize indicates that quarterly results from this web-portal giant will be $0.12 in EPS on revenue of $953.21 million when it reports Tuesday afternoon. That would be down from the $0.30 per share and $1.18 billion posted in the fourth quarter of last year.

The Wall Street analysts are a bit less pessimistic, pegging earnings for the quarter at $0.13 per share (unchanged in the past 60 days) and revenue at $1.19 billion. Note that revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations in the previous quarter, though EPS were in line with the consensus estimate.

And Others

Other well-known companies that Wall Street analysts expect to show at last some earnings growth when they report this week include Comcast, General Motors, Mattel, Tyson Foods, UPS and Yum Brands.

EPS at Sirius XM will be the same as a year ago, if the consensus forecast is correct.

And earnings declines are predicted for Archer Daniels Midland, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Dow Chemical, Exxon Mobil, GoPro, MetLife, Pfizer and Philip Morris.

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