Chrysler And Ford Earnings: Following In GM's Footsteps?

• Upcoming earnings highlights include the latest results from two automaker giants.
• Wall Street analysts are looking for strong earnings growth from both of them.
• However, estimates have been slipping for one and rising for the other.

Expectations were already high for the latest earnings from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV FCAU and Ford Motor Company F, even before General Motors Company GM crushed expectations when it reported last week. Can the other two carmakers live up to the high expectations, especially since the consensus earnings estimate for one of them has been dwindling in the past few weeks?

The GM report showed improved year-over-year results in all operating segments and set first-quarter records for earnings and margin. "We're growing where it counts, gaining retail share in the U.S., outpacing the industry in Europe and capitalizing on robust growth in SUV and luxury segments in China," said Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.

Below is a quick look at what analysts expect from the Chrysler and Ford reports, followed by a glance at some of the other most prominent earnings reports expected this week.

Fiat Chrysler

Wall Street's consensus forecast for this maker of Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo and other vehicles calls for earnings per share (EPS) to have jumped more than 71 percent from the same period of last year to $0.21. That estimate was only $0.15 some 60 days ago. However, the analysts have overestimated EPS in the past four quarters – they were less than half of the consensus estimate in the previous period.

The forecast for revenue for the first quarter calls for $27.19 billion, which would be up modestly from the $26.40 billion posted in the year-ago period. Looking ahead to the current quarter, revenue is so far seen slipping marginally, relative to a year ago. Chrysler is scheduled to report before the opening bell on Tuesday.

Related Link: Facebook And Amazon: More Earnings From The FANG Stocks

Ford

When this maker of the F Series pickups, the best-selling vehicle in America, shares its results early Thursday, the Wall Street forecast is that it will post EPS of $1.46 for the first quarter. That would be up from $0.23 per share year over year. The consensus expectations of 91 Estimize respondents peg EPS a penny higher than that. Note that earnings handily topped Wall Street and Estimize predictions in the previous period.

Revenue for the three months that ended in March will total $35.76 billion, which would be a gain of more than 12 percent year-over-year, if the Wall Street analysts are correct. The Estimize estimate is $36.19 billion, and Estimize, like Wall Street, underestimated revenue in the past few quarters.

And Others

The two companies are not alone, as we are in the heart of earnings reporting season. Other companies that Wall Street analysts expect to show at least some earnings growth when they report this week include AbbVie, Altria, Amazon.com, Barrick Gold, Cardinal Health, Coach, Express Scripts, Facebook, Goodyear, JetBlue Airways, Sirius XM, Texas Instruments, 3M, Time Warner Cable and Xerox.

On the other hand, EPS at Aetna, Apple, Boeing, Capital One, Colgate-Palmolive, Comcast, Corning, DuPont, eBay, Eli Lilly, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Lockheed Martin, Mondelez, Phillips 66, Procter & Gamble, SanDisk, Seagate Technology, SUPERVALU, Tyco International, United Technologies and Viacom will be smaller than a year ago, according to the consensus forecasts.

Net losses are in the cards for Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Freeport-McMoRan, Groupon and U.S. Steel, if expectations are accurate.

In the following week, the first in May, quarterly reports are expected from Activision Blizzard, ADM, Alibaba, Anheuser-Busch, Avon Products, Chesapeake Energy, Duke Energy, Kellogg, Marriott, MetLife, Pfizer, Tesla Motors, Time Warner, Whole Foods and many more.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.