The U.S. earnings season is in full swing. So far, 145 companies in the S&P 500 have reported their earnings results. Here is a snapshot of key U.S mega-cap earnings for the week ending Feb 3rd.

On Wednesday, Meta Platforms, (META) a social technology company, is expected to post fourth-quarter earnings per share of $2.25 compared to $3.67 a year ago. The stock has a TC Quantamental rating of 5.6 out of 10 which is moderate and has been trending lower since August of 2021. The strongest factor score is Value, a metric developed by economist, educator, and investor Benjamin Graham and then popularized by legendary investor Warren Buffett,  where the stock is rated 7.1 out of 10 and trending higher since January 2021. Weak factor scores for Momentum and growth at 3.3 and 4.5 respectively, are contributing to the rating decline. TC Quantamental Rating suggests the stock price should be around $140 per share over the next 12 months based on overall price volatility.  

On Thursday, Alphabet, (GOOGL), Goggle's holding company, is expected to announce fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.21 compared to $1.54 a year ago. The stock has a TC Quantamental rating of 5.5 out of 10 which is also moderate and trending lower since August of 2021. The strongest factor score is quality at 6.8 out of 10 which is strong. The quality factor group measures the total financial strength of the company in regard to profitability, the robustness of its balance sheet, and earnings quality. TC Quantamental Rating suggests the stock price should be around $92.50 per share over the next 12 months based on overall price volatility.

On Thursday, Amazon.com (AMZN), the world's largest online retailer and web services provider, is likely to unveil fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.18 vs $1.39 a year ago. The stock has a TC Quantamental rating of just 3.6 out of 10 which is very weak and has been trending lower since April of 2021. The lowest factor score is Momentum at just 1.6 out of 10. The momentum factor refers to the tendency of winning stocks to continue performing well in the near term. Amazon.com's stock price has been in a downtrend since December 2021 but has recently seen a rebound this month. TC Quantamental Rating suggests the stock price should be around $80 per share over the next 12 months based on overall price volatility.  

On Thursday, Apple (AAPL), the consumer electronics company, is anticipated to release first-quarter earnings per share of $1.96 vs $2.1 a year ago. The stock has a TC Quantamental rating of 5.7 out of 10 which is moderate. The strongest factor score is in quality at 8 out of 10 which is very high. One of the metrics considered in the quality factor score is shares outstanding which is at -3.04% indicating Apple is engaged in share buyback's which helps support higher share prices. TC Quantamental Rating suggests the stock price should be around $137 per share over the next 12 months based on overall price volatility. 

Multi-Stock Trading LLC is a global leader in financial market research and investment analytics for retail online brokers and institutions. Its product suite provides actionable trading ideas based on technical and fundamental research covering stocks, exchange-traded funds, indexes, forex, options, and commodities. Fundamental Insight is available through leading retail brokers in Canada and worldwide.

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Gary Christie is head of North American research at Multi-Stock Trading LLC in Ottawa.

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