Earnings Watch: Airbnb, Disney, and Richemont

Airbnb is expected to report strong Q1 figures

Airbnb will report Q1 earnings after the US market close on Tuesday with analysts expecting revenue of $1.79bn up 19% y/y and EBITDA of $259mn up from $37mn a year ago as the travel industry continues to rebound from the pandemic. Recent commentaries from Mastercard suggests strong cross-border volume and restaurant bookings in line with strong expectations for the coming quarters. Top line growth for marketplaces is ultimately depended on supply and Airbnb has seen a slowdown in available rooms recently which could be a key risk for the outlook. Airbnb’s average daily rate for a room has also slowed down and in recent quarters been below that of Marriott and Hilton which could to margin pressure for Airbnb. Despite these risks, Airbnb is expected to deliver FY23 revenue of $9.6bn and free cash flow of $3.5bn which relative to an enterprise value of $69bn is pretty high yield of around 5%.

How does Disney+ profitability square with Warren Buffett’s wariness over streaming?

Disney is expected to report FY23 Q2 (ending 31 March) earnings on Wednesday after the close with analysts expecting revenue of $21.8bn up 13% y/y and EBITDA of $3.7bn compared to $4.1bn a year ago. There will be a lot of focus on Disney given the intense fight between the CEO Bob Iger and activist investor Nelson Peltz that ended earlier this year with Bob Iger essentially delivering on all the requests from Peltz including drama cost reductions and promises of better profitability of its Disney+ streaming service. The Disney+ streaming service is not generating meaningful profits yet despite its many users and Warren Buffett said during his annual shareholder meeting over the weekend that the streaming industry is becoming extremely competitive which could dramatically worsen profitability going forward. Disney is up 16% this year.

Luxury boom will shine on Richemont earnings

Our luxury theme basket is the best performing basket this year as investors are betting heavily on luxury stocks to thrive as China’s economy rebounds from its strict lockdown during the pandemic and Chinese tourists are allowed travel visas again. The luxury basket is up 21% this year outpacing the global equity market and the Q1 earnings so far from among other LVMH have been strong and above consensus. Richemont, the Swiss-based luxury maker in jewellery and watches, is expected to report FY23 Q4 earnings (ending 31 March) on Friday before European equity markets start trading with analysts expecting full-year revenue of €19.6bn up just 2% compared to FY22 which saw strong growth of 46% and EBITDA of €6.16bn up from €5.03bn a year ago. With revenue growth estimates for FY24 at only 7% y/y Richemont could surprise to the upside given the underlying momentum in China.

Earnings to watch this week

Besides the three earnings releases mentioned above there are several other interesting earnings to watch this week. Nintendo is always interesting given the strong secular trend in gaming consoles and especially with its recent success with the Switch console. Rivian Automotive, that still owns the record as the most valued company relative to revenue in the history of equity markets, is reporting earnings tomorrow and given the adoption rates in electric vehicles this year this earnings release is a must. On Wednesday, green energy investors will focus on Vestas, one the world’s largest wind turbine makers, which has been dealing with manufacturing complexities and run-away costs negatively impacting profitability. In addition, slow permit permissions on wind turbines in the EU have slowed down revenue growth relative to solar modules. On Friday, banking earnings from Societe Generale will gather interest from investors still betting on stronger profitability ahead for European banks as the industry is pacing ahead of their US competitors; read our equity note from last week on the strong outperformance of European banks.

• Monday: Westpac Banking, PayPal, KKR, Devon Energy, BioNTech, Palantir Technologies
  
  
• Tuesday: Suncor Energy, Daimler Truck, Nintendo, Amadeus IT, Endesa, Alcon, Airbnb, Duke Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Electronic Arts, Coupang, Rivian Automotive
  
  
• Wednesday: Nutrien, Vestas Wind Systems, Genmab, Credit Agricole, Siemens Healthineers, E.ON, Toyota, SoftBank, Panasonic, Compass, Disney, Trade Desk, Li Auto, Roblox
  
  
• Thursday: Verbund, Coloplast, Engie, Deutsche Telekom, Merck, Bayer, Hapag-Lloyd, RWE, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Honda Motor, 3i Group, ING Groep, JD.com
  
  
• Friday: Societe Generale, Allianz, Richemont