Apple and Microsoft to report earnings

The week ahead

PLC (), the Northern Ireland-based software and consulting business, reports interim results on Wednesday. In the annual general meeting (AGM) trading update in July, the company said that revenues had risen by 6{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} in the four months to end-June, led by software, which rose 8{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca}, while managed services & consulting revenue increased by 2{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca}. Cash generation was in line with management’s expectations. In recent years, the business has evolved into primarily a software business, following the acquisition of all of Kx Systems, and a focus will be on how the three verticals – FinTech, MarTech and Industry – are performing in light of the COVID-19 backdrop. Investors will also be looking at how demand is developing for the new Kx Streaming Analytics 4.5.

 (LON: PHD), the business spend management solution provider, reports its annual results on Thursday. In its year-end trading update in August the company said its performance was in line with expectations despite the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic during the period. The board expects to report revenues of £49.2mln for the year and adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) of £11.8mln while year-end net bank debt was £37.1mln. A focus will be on how the pipeline is developing, along with margin and cash generation outlook in light of the high debt levels. Last week, the company announced it had signed a seven-year contract with Union Sanitaire et Sociale Aude Pyrénées, reflecting an initial success of the group’s new international sales strategy.

Seeing Machines Limited (), which designs artificial intelligence-powered operator monitoring systems primarily for transport safety, announces its annual results on Friday. In its year-end trading update, the company said that it expects to report annual revenue of US$39.7mln, which was about 8.5{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} ahead of the consensus. Year-end cash was US$38.7mln, compared with a consensus forecast of US$31.8mln, while total connected Guardian units had risen to 23,415 at end-June compared with 20,551 at end-December. The focus will be on how the business is faring in light of the pandemic’s impact on its global transport end-market. Last week Seeing Machines raised roughly US$20mln in a placement with a US institutional investor at 4.1p a share.

Across the pond, technology-related businesses expected to report earnings this week include F5 Networks, Twilio, Akamai, AMD, Lattice Semi, CommVault, Microsoft,  Fiserv, FireEye, Juniper Networks, MSCI, MicroStrategy, ADP, Blackbaud, , Western Digital, SS&C, Cree, Cognex, eBay, Equinix, ServiceNow, Pinterest, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, , Digital Realty Trust, Facebook, Fortinet, Global Payments, Twitter, NetScout, Proofpoint, , Spotify, and Broadridge.