Internet stocks’ first-quarter 2021 results are likely to reflect gains from uptick in demand for digital transformation solutions and cloud computing services, courtesy of the ongoing momentum in work-from-home and learn-from-home trends induced by the pandemic.
Further, increasing acceptance of SaaS-based (or Software as a Service) applications pertaining to employee collaboration, video conferencing, cybersecurity, infrastructure monitoring, asset performance management and human capital management solutions, and telehealth care and remote health diagnosis is expected to have driven the Internet companies’ performance in the first quarter.
Also, the rapid proliferation of AI, Machine Learning (“ML”), cloud products and service, data analytics, IoT, AR/VR, amid accelerated deployment of 5G, might have significantly benefited the Internet companies in the quarter to be reported.
Companies providing software for driverless car technologies, precision location applications, are likely to have experienced gains from rebound in automotive market.
Key Factors to Note
Stay-at-home wave has increased demand to access social-media platforms, online gaming, music and video streaming services. This upside might get reflected in the Internet companies’ impending quarterly results.
Markedly,
Facebook
’s
FB
first-quarter 2021 results
were driven by steady user growth across all regions.
Also, recovering ad revenues, driven by optimism as economies start to reopen, stimulus push, and improving demand scenario, are likely to have contributed to the first-quarter performance. Growing influence of digital marketing has triggered spending on ads, which may have positively impacted Internet companies’ performance in the quarter under review.
Incidentally,
Alphabet
’s
GOOGL
first-quarter 2021 top line
benefited from higher advertiser spend in Search and YouTube, and persistent strength in Google Cloud. Google advertising revenues surged 32.3% year over year to $44.7 billion. Moreover, Facebook’s first-quarter advertising revenues increased 45.9% year over year (42% at cc) to $25.44 billion.
Besides the practice of social distancing in a bid to contain the contagious virus has been bolstering the usage of Internet-of-Things (IoT) based services, robotics, e-commerce, contactless payment and online delivery solutions worldwide.
The uptick in digital payments trend is quite evident from
PayPal’s stellar first-quarter 2021 results
, wherein both earnings and revenues not only surpassed the estimates but also improved year over year. The robust performance highlighted an uptrend in net new active accounts, and strong performance by Venmo and merchant services.
In fact,
Amazon
and
Shopify
delivered stellar first-quarter 2021 results, reflecting gains from ongoing e-commerce boom.
However, companies catering to online travel, tourism and hospitality domains are likely to reflect the impact of coronavirus crisis-induced travel restrictions.
Reintroduction of shelter-in-place guidelines on apprehensions regarding the new mutant strains of coronavirus might have weighed on top-line performance of Internet-based services companies.
Also, COVID-19 induced macroeconomic weakness and sluggishness across small and medium businesses is likely to have battered business prospects, consequently impacting quarterly performance.
Sneak Peek on Upcoming Q1 Releases
Given this intriguing mix of factors, investors interested in the Internet companies keenly await first-quarter 2021 quarterly results from notable companies slated to report on May 13.
Our quantitative model predicts an earnings beat for the company with a positive
Earnings ESP
and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) as this combination increases the odds of a positive surprise. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Globant S.A
.
GLOB
first-quarter 2021 results are likely to reflect gains from momentum in its Studios and AI-accelerator offerings as more organizations realized the need for digital transformation.
Synergies from acquisition of Bluecap, with expertise in providing consultancy for financial institutions is likely to have acted as a tailwind. The rapid digitization of the global economy and increasing use of new technologies like AR and VR are expected to have favored the first quarter performance.
Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Globant this time around. The company has an Earnings ESP of +1.77% and a Zacks Rank #3.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings has been revised upward by a penny in the past 30 days to 81 cents. This suggests a surge of 26.6% from the prior-year quarter’s levels.
DoorDash, Inc
.
DASH
first-quarter 2021 performance is likely to have been favored by increasing adoption of digital sales and delivery channels, triggered by coronavirus pandemic led stay-at-home wave.
Ongoing momentum in the company’s Drive offering led by strong Merchant acceptance is expected to have bolstered first-quarter revenues. Merchants are increasingly adopting Drive to make the most of on-demand and same-day delivery and expand customer base.
Although DoorDash carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present, an Earnings ESP of 0.00% makes surprise prediction difficult. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our
Earnings ESP Filter
.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter bottom line has remained steady at a loss of 23 cents per share over the past 30 days.
Marchex, Inc
.
MCHX
first-quarter 2021 performance is expected to have gained from expanding customer base utilizing its AI-powered conversation intelligence (voice and text) solutions across its core verticals.
Further, growing clout of latest Marchex Marketing Edge offering is likely to have generated incremental revenues in the first quarter.
Nevertheless, Marchex currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter bottom line has remained steady at a loss of 10 cents per share over the past 30 days.
AudioEye, Inc
.’s
AEYE
strength in web accessibility and monitoring solutions across Internet, print, broadcast, and other media is likely to have favored first-quarter 2021 performance.
Rapid uptick in the company’s voice-driven technologies to facilitate mobility and usability of Internet-based content through content publication and distribution software is expected to get reflected in the first-quarter revenues. Expanding clientele of government agencies and schools are other positives.
AudioEye currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter bottom line has remained steady at a loss of 26 cents per share over the past seven days.
NICE Ltd
.
NICE
first-quarter 2021 results are expected to have gained from solid uptick in cloud revenues aided by the ongoing digital transformation. Robust adoption of the CXone cloud platform and an expanding enterprise clientele are likely to have acted as tailwinds.
Moreover, growing traction for NICE ENLIGHTEN, NICE Investigate, and the Evidencentral cloud platform might have boosted client wins in the quarter under review. Also, increasing customer acceptance of the X-Sight and Xceed cloud platforms has been a major positive.
NICE currently has an Earnings ESP of -0.38% and a Zacks Rank #3.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings has remained steady at $1.50 in the past 30 days. This suggests an improvement of 11.9% from the prior-year quarter.
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