I’m keeping an eye on two growing firms that I’ve been following for a while this coming week.
full-time father, part-time investor, and part-time writer. Mike enjoys writing about investing, sports, and technology.
The last two weeks have been busy in terms of 2022 fourth-quarter earnings calls. The majority of the major technology companies reported poor quarterly results, while blue-chip stocks like Walt Disney ($108.06|-2.08%) had a solid comeback. Despite some erratic company profits in 2023, the markets have been mostly favorable. But the overarching message that seems to be emerging is that businesses are aiming to minimize spending and the number of employees.
I’m keeping an eye on two growing firms that I’ve been following for a while this coming week. I’m interested to watch how one capitalizes on the current AI hoopla and how the other handles the criticism that has been leveled at its product. The two earnings reports I’ll be paying the greatest attention to next week are listed below.
Last week, I discussed Palantir as one of the top AI stocks to think about if you want to capitalize on the buzz around ChatGPT. Although Palantir may not come to mind as an AI business, machine learning is heavily utilized in its data analytics products. Furthermore, Palantir’s platforms are unquestionably distinctive as evidenced by the fact that commercial client growth has increased by around 125% year over year.
In reality, given the present economic climate, sales growth has not exactly exceeded the company’s goals, and profitability continues to elude it. Its extensive use of stock-based remuneration for employees has drawn criticism as well. Naturally, it is frequently less expensive to pay out shares of stock and save the money to reinvest in the firm while it is in high growth mode. However, the company’s history of stock-based remuneration has contributed to its continued loss. I’ll be keeping an eye on the CEO Alex Karp’s direction on any prospective profitability this year. Since AI is now gaining pace, I genuinely think that if Palantir reports strong results, the stock would soar.
The epidemic first crippled international travel. Since travel has resumed, customers of Airbnb have been complaining about the company’s skyrocketing pricing. Not only has the cost of housing increased, but so have the extra costs that hosts often impose on. Airbnb hosts may be seeking for ways to increase their margins as interest rates rise and the cost of repaying rental capital increases.
Since tourism is already once again at pre-pandemic levels, Airbnb won’t have much of an excuse if its report is disappointing.