Earnings Preview: General Mills, Micron, Nike, Rite Aid

Four companies we have previewed reported quarterly results after markets closed Thursday or before they opened on Friday. Three of the four beat on both the top and bottom lines (FedEx, Darden Restaurants and Winnebago) while Rivian missed on both.

Lowered guidance from Darden took the stock down Friday morning, while Rivian’s production outlook sent investors headed for the exits. FedEx and Winnebago both traded higher.

Thursday, we previewed earnings expected out after markets close Friday and before the open on Monday: Bit Digital, Blade Air Mobility and Carnival.

Here is a look at two companies scheduled to report quarterly results either after markets close Monday and two more before they open Tuesday.

General Mills

Shares of food products giant General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) have added about 22% over the past 12 months, all of it since early September. General Mills is the second-largest packaged food company in the country, trailing only Kraft Heinz. The company’s Wheaties brand is celebrating its 100th birthday this year with limited-edition boxes of cereal sold only on the company’s website. Can Cocoa Puffs’ NFTs be far behind? Sales have been rising in the quarter, but we won’t know until Tuesday morning whether profits are keeping up.

Sentiment on the stock is muted. Of 20 analysts covering the shares, 13 have a Hold rating, and only four rate the stock at Buy or Strong Buy. The stock has been trading at around $69, above the median price target of $65, but with 13% upside potential based on the high target of $74.

Second-quarter fiscal 2022 revenue is forecast at $4.86, which would be up 7% sequentially and 3% higher year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are forecast at $1.05, up 5% sequentially but down about 2% year over year. The current estimates for the full fiscal year ending in May call for EPS of $3.78, down less than 1%, on sales of $18.26 billion, up less than 1%.

General Mills’ share price to earnings multiple for the 2022 fiscal year is 18.2. For fiscal 2023, the multiple to estimated EPS of $3.92 is 17.6, and for 2024, it is 16.9 times estimated EPS of $4.08. The stock’s 52-week range is $53.96 to $69.67. The high was posted Friday morning. General Mills pays an annual dividend of $2.04 (yield of 3.03%). Total shareholder return for the past year was 19.6%.

Micron

Semiconductor maker Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has added about 12% to its share price over the past 12 months. Since January of 2020, however, the stock is up about 53%, including a drop of 30% between April and early October. The stock has added about 24% since that mid-October low. When Micron reports results after markets close Monday, investors will be paying particular attention to demand for the company’s memory chips and to the effect Micron’s planned production increases will have on the share price.

Of 35 analysts covering the stock, 27 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating on the shares and another six rate the stock at Hold. At a share price of around $81.50, the upside potential based on a median price target of $95 is about 17%. At the high target of $165, upside potential is 102%.

First-quarter fiscal 2022 revenue is forecast at $7.68 billion, down 7.2% sequentially but 33% higher year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $2.11, down 13% sequentially and up 170% year over year. For the full fiscal year, revenue is currently forecast at $32 billion, up 15.5%, and EPS are forecast at $8.86, more than 46% higher.

Micron’s share price to earnings multiple for fiscal 2022 is 9.2. For fiscal 2023, the multiple to estimated EPS of $11.13 is 7.3, and for 2024, it is 7.4 times estimated EPS of $10.96. The stock’s 52-week range is $65.67 to $96.96. Micron pays an annual dividend of $0.10 (yield of 0.12%). Total shareholder return for the past year was 12.8%.

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