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3 Stocks That Popped Post-Earnings

Earnings season has delivered plenty of surprises so far, with Consumer Staples titans utilizing their pricing power and big tech injecting positive sentiment into the market.

And it seems reasonable to expect more surprises to come, with a wide variety of companies slated to reveal results in the coming weeks.

Still, it’s worth highlighting several of the positive surprises we’ve seen so far, including those from Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG, HCA Healthcare HCA, and Microsoft MSFT.

All three companies impressed the market with their results, sending shares soaring post-earnings. Can the momentum carry through? Let’s take a closer look.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill posted an impressive print, exceeding the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate by nearly 20%. Quarterly revenue totaled $2.4 billion, ahead of expectations and improving roughly 16% from the year-ago quarter.

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

As we can see from the chart below, shares saw quite a positive move post-earnings, reflecting a much different reaction than its prior release.

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Analysts have raised their earnings expectations across the board following the release, helping land CMG into a favorable Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare also posted results that pleased the market, exceeding our consensus EPS estimate by more than 20% and delivering a modest 2% top line beat. Earnings saw year-over-year growth of 19%, whereas revenue saw growth of 4.3%.

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Buyers came out to play following the release, with HCA shares closing nearly 4% higher. In fact, HCA shares have been notably strong since the beginning of March, up almost 17% since and reflecting notable relative strength.

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

In addition, the company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.60 per share, payable on June 30th, 2023. HCA’s annual dividend currently yields 0.8%, below the Zacks Medical sector average by a fair margin.

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Microsoft

Everybody highly awaited Microsoft’s results, and the company delivered. Microsoft reported earnings of $2.45 per share, handily exceeding the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate by more than 10%. Quarterly revenue also beat expectations, reported at $52.9 billion and growing 7% year-over-year.

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Microsoft’s results helped buoy the market, as we can see illustrated by the chart below. Investors have been impressed by big tech so far in earnings season.

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company’s Cloud strength helped drive the better-than-expected results, with Intelligent Cloud revenue growing 16% year-over-year to $22.1 billion.

Bottom Line

As we continue wading through earnings season, more surprises will come.

And so far, all three companies above – Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG, HCA Healthcare HCA, and Microsoft MSFT – have delivered results that had buyers lined up post-earnings.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research