The week ending Friday, May 3rd was another great week for corporate earnings. Three widely held companies reported their earning for Q1. Let’s take a look.
Mastercard Incorporated (MA), an S &P 500 component, reported that its revenue was $$3.89 billion, up 8.6% year over year. But even more impressive, MA’s gross dollar volume (as it relates to credit card transactions) increased 12% to $1.5 trillion. MA’s 52 week range is $171 - $257.
As you know I have a love/hate relationship with Apple (AAPL). On Tues, April 30th, they reported quarterly revenue of $58 billion, a decline of 5 percent from the year-ago quarter. As the company has stated, iphone sales are slowing, but Apple services like iCloud and iTunes are growing. Apple stock’s 52 week range is $142 to $233. Although the market’s reaction is favorable to Apple shares, I recommend Apple shares as a hold NOT a buy.
Square Inc. (SQ) reported first-quarter revenue of $959 million. However if you dig deeper you will notice that $656 million of that came from their credit card transactions and $218 million came from their subscription service businesses (Weebly, Caviar and Zesty).
At the end of Q1 Square has demonstrated that it is no longer just in the credit card processing business. They have diversified themselves by purchasing Weebly (a website host), Caviar (a delivery solution for consumers to order food from local eateries with the ability to live-track the order on a map), and Zesty (a corporate catering platform). SQ's 52 week range is $48 to $101.
I expect these 3 stocks to continue to rise over the next 52 weeks.
Stay Open! Stay Positive!
Tyrone Jackson
The Wealthy Investor
