Ticker Reports for August 11th
4 Stocks That May Get a Big Earnings Bump This Week
As Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reminds us, sometimes it can be difficult to predict how the market will respond to a company's earnings report, even if the firm comes out ahead of analyst expectations for earnings and revenue. Amazon's dip following its latest report, despite top- and bottom-line beats, shows that sometimes details like forward guidance or the suggestion of short-term difficulties can be enough to undo any investor goodwill that may have built.
With that in mind, it's impossible to predict how the four companies below will fare as they report earnings the week of August 11. However, each of them stands out from its industry peers for its strong support from analysts and enjoys other potential selling points.
We'll take a closer look for anyone considering a purchase before earnings results come in.
Crucial Player in Domestic Chip Manufacturing
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) provides technologies essential to the manufacturing of chips, DRAM, and NAND memory, making it a key player in the AI/data center niche. However, the company's addressable market goes well beyond that space, and Applied Materials may play a hand in the construction of everything from personal computers and smartphones to cloud servers, among many other things.
The chip foundry market is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, which should keep demand for Applied Materials' Etch and eBeam products and technology high. The company also recently announced a partnership with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) to supply American-made manufacturing equipment.
Thus, the firm is poised to benefit from a regulatory landscape strongly favoring domestic chip production.
While these last points will not factor into Applied Materials' most recent earnings quarter, analysts are optimistic and expect earnings to grow by 7.4% this year. Seventeen out of 25 analysts have rated AMAT shares a Buy, and the stock could have more than 10% in near-term upside potential based on price targets.
Berry Global Deal Could Boost Amcor
Packaging products giant Amcor plc (NYSE: AMCR) is likely to get a boost in its earnings report this week, the company's fiscal fourth-quarter report, thanks to its all-stock combination with packaging rival Berry Global. The deal, valued at over $8 billion, was completed by the end of April 2025, within the latest quarter.
Amcor has said the acquisition should provide 12% earnings per share (EPS) accretion in fiscal 2026 and at least 35% in EPS accretion by the end of fiscal 2028.
It's difficult to say exactly how much of this impact may be felt so early on, but signs of success in this area could excite investors, giving AMCR shares a boost. Particularly if the company can maintain its strong cash flow and attractive valuation, shares could get a bump.
This may be why eight out of 10 analysts view AMCR shares as a Buy. Based on analyst price targets, the company also has more than 19% upside potential.
Financial Services Expansion Fuels Sea's Rise
Singaporean internet and mobile platform firm Sea Ltd. (NYSE: SE) has made significant inroads into the digital financial services space. This should help the company continue to dominate in the Southeast Asian region, where it already has a considerable market share for its e-commerce platform.
On the other hand, short interest has risen by about 2.5% in the last month, perhaps owing to the company's high valuation, which currently trades at a P/E ratio of more than 104.
However, that lofty valuation is not a concern for most analysts. Ten out of 13 view it as a Buy, and a consensus price target of $159.82 suggests the stock still has room to climb about 8.2% in the near term.
Perhaps even more interesting for investors watching the company's upcoming earnings report is the analyst conviction that Sea's earnings could quadruple in the coming year to $2.96 per share.
An Overlooked Credit-Tech Name With Big Growth
Credit-tech platform 360 Jietiao is backed by Qifu Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: QFIN), though the parent company is in the midst of a rebranding and name change.
Nonetheless, Qifu gives investors many reasons to consider it despite being an overlooked name in the Chinese market.
Recent earnings successes, significant partnerships with multiple municipal banks in China, and big gains in loan facilitation and origination volume should all drive interest.
Analysts expect earnings to grow by nearly 12% in the coming year.
QFIN shares are only rated by three analysts in the United States, but each has assigned a Buy rating. According to price targets, shares could rise by 55%.
They're calling it the 'Freedom Dividend'
They're calling it the 'Freedom Dividend'
3 Natural Gas Stocks Powering the AI Data Center Boom
Energy stocks are notoriously cyclical. Over the last five years, the sector has lagged the broader market, especially the tech sector, mainly due to the global pandemic and uneven economic recovery.
However, in 2025, natural gas stocks are making a strong rally, and the reason for that surge has to do with one of the hottest tech trends: artificial intelligence (AI).
As tech giants pour billions into building and expanding data centers, the demand for reliable, round-the-clock power is exploding—and much of that power is coming from natural gas.
Think of a data center like a car. It might be engineered for performance, but without fuel, it doesn’t go anywhere. Similarly, AI data centers must run 24/7 to keep up with the relentless processing needs of large language models (LLMs). That requires a stable, scalable power source.
The good news for investors is that this AI-driven energy buildout will play out over years, possibly decades, so it’s not too late to invest in this trend. Here are three natural gas stocks well-positioned to benefit.
Williams: Data Centers Moving Closer to the Pipeline
The Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB) operates one of the largest interstate natural gas pipeline systems in the United States, with a network spanning key energy-producing regions and high-growth population centers.
The company has explicitly cited rising demand from data center developers, particularly those planning large-scale AI-ready facilities. These projects require access to high-volume, low-cost, and reliable baseload power. That closely aligns with Williams' pipeline and gathering assets in regions like the Gulf Coast, Appalachia, and the Southeast.
Data center developers are now actively selecting sites near existing natural gas infrastructure to reduce both cost and permitting complexity. In some cases, Williams is engaging in direct discussions with developers to co-locate facilities or provide dedicated capacity. This is increasing the company’s capital expenditures (capex) spending, a fact that was reflected in its second-quarter earnings, in which Williams missed earnings per share (EPS) forecasts by three cents. It also shows up in the company’s 1.75% debt-to-equity ratio, which is above its historical average.
Plus, at 29x earnings, WMB stock is expensive to its sector and to itself. However, investors can collect a dividend with a 3.45% yield to mitigate the stock’s range-pound performance in the past year.
EQT: Certified Low-Emissions Gas Are a Competitive Edge
Casual industry observers might not think of putting natural gas companies and innovation in the same sentence. However, EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) may make investors rethink their position.
EQT is the largest natural gas producer in the United States and an aggressive investor in certified low-emissions natural gas. The company participates in third-party certification programs to deliver gas tagged as “responsibly sourced” or “certified low-emissions.”
This is increasingly important for data center developers because of the 24/7 nature of the energy demand. The search for clean energy sources is driving nuclear energy demand. But that will take many years to build out. Low-emissions natural gas is here today, and so is the opportunity for EQT.
A recent pullback in EQT stock makes this an attractive entry point, particularly with analysts forecasting 32% earnings growth over the next 12 months. With a forward P/E around 15x, the company trades at a discount to itself and the sector. It also has an attractive debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.
Powering AI with Gas Turbines and Grid Reliability
The first two natural gas stocks on this list have been involved with transportation. GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV), the energy spin-off from General Electric, takes a different route: manufacturing the hardware essential for natural gas applications.
GEV has been one of the best-performing stocks of 2025, up 96% as of Aug. 7. It is also one of the world’s leading producers of natural gas turbines, building the kind of equipment needed to power regions where AI data centers may create massive, unpredictable demands on the grid.
As hyperscale data centers increasingly seek on-site or nearby generation, GE Vernova’s turbines offer a reliable, grid-independent power solution, especially in constrained utility capacity.
The company is also a leader in grid modernization, supplying transformers, circuit breakers, and smart grid software to help utilities manage surging electricity demand. In short, GE Vernova doesn’t just sell energy equipment; it builds the infrastructure powering the AI era.
Trading at 100x forward earnings, GEV stock is expensive. However, it’s also expected to grow earnings at 67.8% over the next 12 months. That demand is a key reason why analysts are increasing their price targets for GEV stock.
Crypto bros: Meet your replacement
Crypto bros: Meet your replacement
3 Big Dividend Plays With Strong Earnings to Back Them
Long-term dividend plays tend to be more stable than many other stocks—after all, this stability is why they are able to provide consistent dividends in the first place. Traditional dividend stocks are large, well-established companies that are unlikely to experience significant volatility apart from trends affecting the broader market.
That said, even favorite names among dividend investors can cause shareholder anxiety if their fundamentals shift to the point that they have to consider reducing or even canceling distributions. It's essential for dividend stocks to maintain their top and bottom lines, their cash flow, and other key elements in order to be able to confidently continue to pay—and hopefully increase—their payouts to investors. That's why earnings season is important for dividend stocks, including those companies that are so established that they may not otherwise draw much attention when they release a report.
Let's take a look below at three dividend-paying favorites that also had strong earnings for the most recent quarter, a sign that their distributions remain robust.
Earnings Beat, Reduced Expenses, Strong Cash Flow For Waste Management
Waste and recyclables collection services giant Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) is a compelling dividend play owing to the vital and consistent nature of the work the company does. It's also large, with a network of hundreds of landfills across the country and a market capitalization of more than $92 billion.
These factors have helped Waste Management to build a 22-year history of dividend increases, alongside a dividend yield of 1.43% and a payout ratio just under 49%.
Signs of continued growth in the firm's fundamentals will help to ensure that it can maintain this dividend momentum into the future. The company's second-quarter 2025 earnings report provides just that. Waste Management noted beats on both earnings per share (EPS) and revenue, as the latter of these figures climbed by 19% year-over-year (YOY). The strength of its collection and disposal business also fueled significant gains in EBITDA.
Dividend investors will also be happy to see that Waste Management's operating expenses dropped relative to revenue, now making up less than 60% of revenue as of last quarter, thanks to improvements in telematics. With winter approaching, the company made a small trim to revenue guidance, but with expected free cash flow approaching $3 billion for the year, it appears Waste Management's dividend payouts continue to be solid.
Earnings Growth—Though Slow—and Rate Increase Boosts Eversource
Utility firms like Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) also draw the attention of dividend investors because of their defensive status. Eversource is a major utility provider in the northeast, offering electricity, gas, and water services.
While the company's 4.56% dividend yield will interest investors, it has a less stable dividend payout ratio of 129.2%—meaning that it has paid out more in dividends than it has generated in income—and only two years of recent dividend increases.
Growing earnings is essential to keeping the dividend payout ratio down, and Eversource managed to do so this last quarter, if only by a penny per share. Analysts had expected EPS to remain flat YOY at 95 cents, but the company beat predictions with 96 cents.
The growth from this quarter helped Eversource reaffirm its full-year EPS guidance as well as its long-term growth target of up to 7% through 2029.
While revenue performance was not as strong—the company's 12% YOY improvement in this area fell slightly short of predictions—electric demand is growing steadily, and a $100-million permanent rate increase in New Hampshire should help provide stability going forward.
All-Around Strong Performance Buoys Johnson & Johnson
Healthcare products giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is a standout dividend stock, with a whopping 64 years of steady payout increases, a compelling yield of 3.06%, and a sustainable payout ratio of 55.6%.
The company's mid-July earnings report shows that it can continue to impress—it beat EPS predictions by 9 cents and revenue estimates by nearly $900 million.
Johnson's innovative medicine business, particularly its oncology line, is fueling this growth. The company's drug candidate TAR200 for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer could generate some $5 billion in peak sales.
Immunology and the cardiovascular section of the company's MedTech business were also standouts.
All of these signals point to JNJ remaining an excellent dividend play going forward in the foreseeable future.
IRS Wants Another Check on Sept 15th—What If You Could Keep It Instead?
IRS Wants Another Check on Sept 15th—What If You Could Keep It Instead?
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