Investing

Earnings Previews: Affirm, Aurora Cannabis, Toast

PierceHSmith / iStock via Getty Images

Early trading Wednesday had two of the three major U.S. indexes in the green. Tuesday’s up-and-down regular session ended with the Nasdaq up 1% while the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 finished the day down and up a quarter-point, respectively. The monthly consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% month over month in April, a steep drop from the 1.2% increase between March and April. The annual rate declined from 8.5% to 8.3%. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose 0.6% month over month and stands at 6.2% for the past 12 months.

After markets closed Tuesday, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase missed analysts’ estimates on both the top and bottom lines. The company said it expects lower trading volume in the current quarter. The stock traded down more than 17% Wednesday morning.

Kinross Gold matched analysts’ consensus earnings estimate but missed the forecast revenue number. The company also said it plans to reduce its capital spending in each of the next three years. Shares were down fractionally in early trading.

Occidental Petroleum traded up by about 2% after beating both the top-line and bottom-line estimates.

SoFi Technologies released its earnings report before markets closed Tuesday, following an early leak of the results. Trading was halted on the stock and shares closed down 12% for the day. In early trading Wednesday, the stock was trading up less than 2%, after meeting the profit estimate and beating on revenue. The decentralized finance company also lowered its revenue guidance for the current quarter but guided full-year sales above estimates.

We already have previewed four companies set to report results late on Wednesday: Bakkt, Coupang, Disney and Rivian.

Here is a look at three companies set to report results after markets close on Thursday.

Affirm

Since posting an annual high in early November, shares of payment processor Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM) have dropped by more than 66%. The stock tumbled by 11.7% on Tuesday after peer lender Upstart reported a lackluster quarter (Upstart dropped 56.4% on Tuesday). Affirm, a buy-now-pay-later lender, also faces the certainty of having to charge higher interest rates and the likelihood of rising default rates.

Of 14 analysts covering the stock, eight have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and four others rate the stock at Hold. At a recent price of around $18.20 a share, the implied gain based on a median price target of $60.00 is nearly 230%. Based on the high price target of $85.00, the upside potential for the stock is about 367%.

Analysts expect Affirm to report fiscal third-quarter revenue of $344.42 million, which would be down 4.6% sequentially but 49.3% higher year over year. They also expect the company to report an adjusted loss per share of $0.41, better than the prior quarter’s loss of $0.57 per share and the year-ago loss of $1.00 in the third quarter. For the full 2022 fiscal year, Affirm is currently expected to post a loss per share of $1.39, smaller than last year’s loss of $2.59 per share, on revenue of $1.33 billion, up 52.4%.

Affirm is not expected to post a profit in 2022, 2023 or 2024. The enterprise value-to-sales multiple is expected to be 5.0 in 2022. Based on average estimated sales of $1.92 billion and $2.7 billion for 2023 and 2024, respectively, the multiple is 3.5 for 2023 and 2.5 for 2024. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $16.55 to $176.65. Affirm does not pay a dividend. Total shareholder return for the past year was negative 68.1%.

Aurora Cannabis

Shares of Canada-based pot grower Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ: ACB) posted their 52-week high in early June of 2021. Since then, the shares have dropped by nearly 75%. Rival Cronos reported quarterly results after markets closed Monday that missed estimates on the top and bottom lines, but not by much. And revenue doubled year over year. That sent Aurora’s shares to a 52-week low on Tuesday. Expectations for Aurora are low, and if the company misses, the stock could really be pounded.

Of 15 analysts covering the stock, 10 have a Hold rating. None rates the stock a Buy or Strong Buy, while five have Sell or Strong Sell ratings. At a share price of around $2.60, the implied gain based on a median price target of $6.44 is about 148%. Based on the high price target of $7.94, the upside potential for the stock is about 205%.

Analysts expect Aurora to report fiscal third-quarter revenue of $41.5 million, down by about 13.4% sequentially and by 5.4% year over year. The company is expected to report an adjusted loss per share of $0.16, compared to the prior quarter’s loss of $0.20 per share and the year-ago loss per share of $0.25. For the full 2022 fiscal year, Aurora is expected to post a loss per share of $0.62, smaller than last year’s loss of $1.24 per share, on revenue of $181.25 million, down by about 8.5%.

Aurora is not expected to post a profit in 2022, 2023 or 2024. The enterprise value-to-sales multiple is expected to be 3.6 in 2022. Based on estimated sales of $210.37 million in 2023 and $225.44 million in 2024, the multiples are 3.1 and 2.9, respectively. The stock’s 52-week range is $2.39 to $10.94. The company does not pay a dividend. Total shareholder return for the past year was negative 68.8%.

Toast

Since coming public in late September, Toast Inc. (NYSE: TOST) has seen its share price plunge by nearly 78%. The company operates a cloud-based and digital technology platform for the U.S. and Irish restaurant industries. A good example of the uncertain near-term future of the company happened in early April. Two analysts initiated coverage on Toast on the same day. One rated the stock a Sell with a price target of $19, while the other rated the shares as Overweight with a price target of $29. Since then, Toast stock has dropped more than 34%.

Of 16 brokerages covering the stock, 10 have Buy or Strong Buy ratings, and the rest rate the stock at Hold. At a share price of around $13.90, the implied gain based on a median price target of $25.00 is nearly 80%. Based on the high price target of $40.00, the upside potential for the stock is about 188%.


Analysts expect Affirm to report first-quarter revenue of $490.47 million, down 4.2% sequentially. Analysts also expect an adjusted loss per share of $0.12, better than the prior quarter’s loss of $0.15. For full fiscal 2022, Affirm is expected to post a loss per share of $0.48, smaller than last year’s loss of $0.82 per share, on revenue of $2.38 billion, up 39.7%.

Affirm is not expected to post a profit in 2022, 2023 or 2024. The enterprise value-to-sales multiple is expected to be 2.5 in 2022. Based on average estimated sales of $3.15 billion and $4.12 billion for 2023 and 2024, respectively, the multiple is 1.9 for 2023 and 1.4 for 2024. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $13.07 to $69.93, and the low was posted Tuesday. Affirm does not pay a dividend.

Smart Investors Are Quietly Loading Up on These “Dividend Legends” (Sponsored)

If you want your portfolio to pay you cash like clockwork, it’s time to stop blindly following conventional wisdom like relying on Dividend Aristocrats. There’s a better option, and we want to show you. We’re offering a brand-new report on 2 stocks we believe offer the rare combination of a high dividend yield and significant stock appreciation upside. If you’re tired of feeling one step behind in this market, this free report is a must-read for you.

Click here to download your FREE copy of “2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever” and start improving your portfolio today.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.