Top stocks to watch amid fresh earnings: LLY, BABA, COP, DUK, BDX

Highlights:

• Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) posted a muted revenue growth for the quarter ended on June 30, 2022.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) posted a net income of US$ 5.14 billion in Q2 FY22.
• Becton, Dickinson, and Company (NYSE: BDX) too raised its revenue and EPS guidance for 2022.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK), and Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) are among the key players in their respective industries. All these companies posted their earnings on Thursday, August 4, 2022.

The earnings season has so far helped gains in the market while raising the overall market sentiments. The US stock market, as well as the global equity market, have come under immense pressure this year due to the soaring inflation, rising interest rates, and geopolitical turmoil.

The economy also seemed to cool off in the first half of this year. The US GDP plummeted 0.9 per cent annually in the second quarter, after decreasing 1.6 per cent at the starting quarter of the year.

Although the market anticipated that the impact of inflation and other macroeconomic factors would reflect on the corporate earnings, much of the financial results came in as a surprise. The companies, like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), etc. have posted steady and notable growth despite the inflation and other uncertainties in the market.

In addition, this week's earnings from companies like PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ PYPL) and CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS) have also cheered up investors.

Let's take a closer look with Kalkine Media® on the financial updates of these companies and see how they have performed in the second quarter:

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY)

The LLY stock plummeted over two per cent in the pre-market trading session on Thursday, August 4, following its second-quarter earnings release. Its 52-week low was US$ 220.20 as on September 28, 2021.

LLY stock returned gains of around 11 per cent year-to-date (YTD) while soaring about 13 per cent in the last 12 months.

The pharmaceutical firm noted a decline of four per cent in its Q2 FY22 revenue of US$ 6.48 billion from a revenue of US$ 6.74 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.

The reported net income of the Indianapolis, Indiana-based firm was US$ 952.5 million, or US$ 1.05 per share in the second quarter of fiscal 2022, representing a slump of 31 per cent from Q2 FY21 net income of US$ 1.39 billion or US$ 1.53 per diluted share.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA)

The stock of the e-commerce firm, BABA witnessed a surge of about seven per cent in the pre-market session on Thursday to trade at US$ 102.45. Its 52-week low was US$ 73.28 as on March 15, 2022.

BABA stock witnessed choppy trading so far this year, falling about 19 per cent YTD. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, it slumped nearly 24 per cent.

The revenue of the firm witnessed a muted growth on a YoY basis to US$ 30.68 billion in the quarter that ended on June 30, 2022. The net income of the Chinese e-commerce giant fell 53 per cent YoY to US$ 3.03 billion or US$ 1.27 diluted per ADS in the latest quarter.

The company cited a "stable" growth in its latest quarter revenue on a YoY basis mainly due to a decrease in its China commerce segment.

In addition, Alibaba recently appointed two independent directors, Irene Yun-Lien Lee and Albert Kong Ping, to its board (effective August 4, 2022), on August 3, 2022. 

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP)

The leading oil producer and hydrocarbon exploration firm posted a total revenue and other income of US$ 21.98 billion in Q2 FY22 as compared to a revenue of US$ 10.21 billion in the prior year's same quarter.

Its net income also rose significantly in the second quarter of fiscal 2022 to US$ 5.14 billion, from US$ 2.09 billion in Q2 FY21. In the latest quarter, its diluted earnings per share (diluted EPS) was US$ 3.96, against US$ 1.55 per diluted share in Q2 FY21.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the firm expects its production to be between 1.70 million and 1.76 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMBOED). ConocoPhillips also announced a quarterly dividend of US$ 0.46 per share (payable on September 1, 2022).

COP stock soared over 2 per cent following its earnings release to trade at US$ 93.50 on August 4. The stock of the Houston, Texas-based firm witnessed substantial gains in recent months.

On a YTD basis, it gained over 26 per cent, while showing gains of 24 per cent YoY.

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Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK)

The stock of the electric power and natural gas holding firm was up 0.57 per cent to US$ 11.45 at 9:28 am ET on August 4, 2022. The US$ 85.86 billion market cap firm holds a dividend yield of 3.59 per cent. The dividend yield is the division of the annual income (dividend) from any investment by the current price of the asset.

Duke Energy reported operating revenue of US$ 6.68 billion in Q2 FY22, up from US$ 5.75 billion in the year-ago quarter. Its net income improved to US$ 880 million in Q2 FY22, from US$ 698 million in Q2 FY21.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based utility company appointed Brian Savoy as its executive vice president and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), succeeding Steve Young, on August 1. It would be effective on September 1, 2022. Mr. Savoy currently serves as the executive vice president and Chief Commercial Officer of the company.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX)

BDX stock slumped over one per cent in the pre-market session on August 4, 2022, following its earnings release. However, it reversed the course in morning trading with a gain of over two per cent on Thursday, August 4, 2022.

The medical technology firm posted a 0.7 per cent YoY increase in its Q2 FY22 revenue of US$ 4.64 billion. However, its net income attributable to common shareholders fell 32.7 per cent YoY to US$ 338 million or a decline of 31.4 per cent YoY to US$ 1.18 per diluted share in Q2 FY22.

Meanwhile, the Franklin Lakes, New Jersey-based firm raised its fiscal 2022 revenue guidance range to US$ 18.75 billion to US$ 18.83 billion, from its prior guidance of US$ 18.5 billion to US$ 18.7 billion.

Becton, Dickinson, and Company now expect its adjusted diluted EPS to be between US$ 11.28 and US$ 11.35 apiece, from its previous guidance of a range of US$ 11.15 to US$ 11.30 per share.

Bottom line:

The US indices have noted one of their worst performing first halves of the year in decades in 2022 due to the macroeconomic concerns, before wiping off some of their losses in the prior month. The month of July 2022 has been marked as the best performing month for the indices since 2020.

Looking at the details of the indices' performance, the S&P 500 index tumbled 12.82 per cent YTD, while soaring 9.77 per cent QTD. On the other hand, the tech-savvy Nasdaq fell 19.03 per cent YTD, while increasing 14.87 per cent in the ongoing quarter.