Evercore ISI is gearing up for first-quarter tech earnings by making short-term, bullish calls and a tactical bearish recommendation. Well-known technology analyst Mark Mahaney said underperformance in first quarter earnings is less likely given the negative revisions already seen across the tech sector in recent quarters. And he said the net multiple should see upside, with the median enterprise-value-to-EBITDA ratio of large-cap stocks near a five-year trough.
mountain Meta Spotify, which reports earnings on April 25, could be feeling the effect of a cooling ad marketplace on its podcast business, Mahaney said. Spotify had reportedly shuttered its live audio app, Spotify Live, which demonstrating management discipline around costs. But Mahaney said Spotify should see robust marketplace growth, and its premium revenue gross margin expand, as the music streaming platform opens its Discovery Mode feature to more artists.
mountain Spotify The short play On the other hand, Mahaney isn't as optimistic about Airbnb . The Wharton business school grad said first-quarter earnings expectation for the vacation platform are reasonable, but the second quarter is less likely to be beatable. While industry checks were in line with forecasts through the beginning of March, demand appears to have cooled later in the quarter, Mahaney said.
mountain Airbnb — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report