Will the FAANG Stocks Beat This Earnings Season?

Earnings season is back.

And while the big banks will lead it off again, early in the season, the FAANG stocks will begin reporting. The FAANG stocks are usually the highlight of the earnings season because, after all, most of us own them either individually or in an index fund like the S&P 500 or NASDAQ.

And who doesn’t like to see how many billions they made in the quarter?

Netflix leads it off on Apr 19, with the other 4 companies reporting in the last week of April and first week of May, starting with Alphabet on Apr 26.

For years, few have cared if the FAANG stocks beat or missed on the earnings. What mattered was revenue growth and that they beat revenue estimates.

But in 2022, with the Federal Reserve raising rates and growth stocks now out of favor, do fundamentals and valuation matter?

Which of the FAANG stocks have the edge, if any, in 2022?

FAANG Stock Earnings Outlook

1.    Meta Platforms FB

Meta Platforms is the cheapest of the FAANG stocks after its shares have plunged 34% in 2022.

Meta Platforms now trades with a forward P/E of just 17.7 yet it is still expected to produce double-digit revenue growth in both 2022 and 2023.

It missed on earnings last quarter, after beating 6 quarters in a row during the pandemic.

Is all the negative news already priced in?

2.    Apple Inc. AAPL

Apple has the best earnings chart of the FAANG stocks. It hasn’t missed in 5 years which is impressive given what was going on during the pandemic quarters in 2020.

Apple investors have also remained loyal, with the shares down only 4% in 2022. They aren’t cheap, with a forward P/E of 28 and revenue expected to grow only in the single digits in fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023 but investors don’t seem to care.

Is valuation irrelevant with Apple?

3.    Amazon AMZN

Amazon has beat on earnings in 6 of the last 7 quarters with a big beat last quarter.

Amazon’s shares have struggled in 2022, falling 7.4% year-to-date. Over the last year, shares are down 7.9% as well.

Amazon now trades with a forward P/E of 59, which is actually historically low for the company.

Analysts expect Amazon to continue growing its revenue at a fast pace, despite its size, with revenue forecast to go up 15.2% in 2022 and another 17% in 2023.

Is Amazon being overlooked this quarter?

4.    Netflix NFLX

Netflix has a volatile earnings surprise track record with as many misses as beats in recent years. However, it has managed to put together 2 beats in a row the last two quarters.

But the earnings beat, or miss, was never the focus for the Street. Subscriber growth was.

Netflix shares have plunged 41% year-to-date on fears about slowing subscriber growth with the global economy reopening after the pandemic shutdowns.

Netflix now trades with a forward P/E of just 33, which is historically on the low end for the company.

Is Netflix the best “deal” among the FAANG stocks?

5.    Alphabet GOOGL

Alphabet has put together a nice earnings surprise streak, beating 7 quarters in a row. This has been an impressive streak during the tough pandemic years.

But shares have fallen 8% year-to-date and are up just 13.8% over the last year.

Alphabet’s forward P/E has fallen along with the shares and is now just 22.7.

Alphabet continues to be a revenue growth machine, with revenue expected to jump another 17.7% this year and 16.4% next year.

Can Alphabet really continue to grow at the double-digit pace or will this quarter signal a slowdown?

[In full disclosure, Tracey owns shares of FB, AMZN and GOOGL in her personal portfolio.]

Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.

This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.