PreMarket Prep: Big Beats From The Big Boys

The earnings blitz continued on Thursday's PreMarket Prep Show, starting with two of the top components in the S&P 500.

Apple Does Not Disappoint

After the close on Wednesday, Apple Inc. AAPL continued its winning ways with a fiscal fourth-quarter EPS beat of 20 cents along with a revenue beat of just over $1 billion.

Off the headline number, the issue raced to $252.50 in after-hours trading, but quickly fell back under $250. After its tremendous run in 2019 and in particular its pre-earnings run, the hosts of the show were reluctant to chase the issue on the longside.

Instead, the discussion focused on possible resistance, with the premise that the after-hours high will hold. It was pointed out the two of its last three highs were in the $249 handle. On Monday, the issue peaked at $249.25 and on Wednesday it peaked at $249.75 (all-time high), putting in place a potential double top. So far, it peaked at $249.17 with over four hours left in the session.

Facebook Make It 30 For 31 For EPS Beats

Since its IPO in 2012, Facebook Inc. FB has exceeded EPS estimates in 30 of the 31 quarters, with the only miss coming in the first quarter of 2013.

It announced an EPS beat of 21 cents along with a slight revenue beat. Similar to Apple, Facebook put in an after-hours high at $200. In anticipation of the after-hours high holding up, the trio of highs at the $198.50 area from late July was designated as major resistance. So far, the issue has crept into the $198 handle, stopping shy of that level at $198.12.

Twitter Takes A Stand On Political Ads

In non-earnings news after the close on Wednesday, Twitter Inc. TWTR announced it will no longer accept political advertising on its site. The Street reacted negatively to the announcement as the issue made a new post-earnings low at $28.86, just as it appeared to be forming a bottom at the $30 area.

The author of this article, who is long the issue, questioned how much of its ad revenue came from political advertising to measure the potential impact. Also, it was viewed as a good move from the company to disengage itself from the political fray coming into an election year.

It remains to be seen if the decline was an overreaction. It should be noted the issue has mounted a rally off its early morning low and did manage to get unchanged earlier in the session before tapering off.

Outstanding Guests On Friday's Show

Around 15 minutes into the broadcast, Marc Chaiklin of Chaikin Analytics joined the show with his fundamental and technical take on the markets.

Later on, Michael Olson, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray dialed in to critique Apple's report.

On Friday's show, a show favorite, Michelle Krebs, Executive Analyst at Cox Automotive will come on to discuss earnings for the automobile makers and new vehicle sales.

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