Will Currency Hit TripAdvisor (TRIP) Earnings Again In Q1?

TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) is slated to report first-quarter 2016 results on May 4. Last quarter, the company reported a 44.00% positive earnings surprise.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors to Consider

TripAdvisor’s fourth-quarter earnings exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate due to lower-than-expected operating expenses. Revenues of $309.0 million were up 7% year over year and down 25.5% sequentially. The sequential decline was due to adverse currency movements.We wait to see the impact of currency issues on the upcoming results.

For the first quarter, the company’s solid fundamentals, various growth initiatives including Instant Booking, strong focus on developing mobile products, expansion into international restaurant reservation and improvement in user growth and engagement, especially on mobile devices, are expected to drive results.

Nevertheless, intensifying competition fromPriceline, Expediaand Alphabetmay act as a dampener.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that TripAdvisor will beat earnings estimates this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESPand a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.

Zacks ESP: The Most Accurate estimate stands at 37 cents, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 38 cents. Hence, the difference is -2.63%.

Zacks Rank: TripAdvisor has a Zacks Rank #3. Although a favorable Zacks Rank increases the predictive power of ESP, the company’s negative ESP leaves our surprise prediction inconclusive.

We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some stocks, which you may want to consider as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) , with an Earnings ESP of +8.11% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report first-quarter 2016 earnings results on May 3, 2016.

Quotient Technology Inc. (NYSE:QUOT) , with an Earnings ESP of +18.18% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report first-quarter 2016 earnings results on May 3, 2016.

Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp. (NYSE:SBY) , with an Earnings ESP of +5.00% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 earnings results on May 4, 2016.