These 3 Companies Crushed Earnings Season

The 2025 Q1 earnings season is slowly winding down, with the majority of S&P 500 companies already delivering their results. The period has overall been positive, though commentary surrounding upcoming periods has largely dictated post-earnings moves amid elevated uncertainty stemming from tariff talks.

Still, several companies – Netflix NFLX, Eaton ETN, and Centene CNC – knocked it out of the park, posting robust results that had shareholders pleased. Let’s take a closer look at each release for those interested in near-term momentum.

Netflix Shares Surge

Consistently strong results have led to NFLX’s surge over the past year, with the reaffirmation of FY25 guidance in its latest print going a long way in alleviating investors amid the uncertain environment. Up 90% over the past year, the stock has been a massive bright spot, with its run seemingly being ignored by many amid other trends like the AI frenzy.

Continued subscriber growth has been the real highlight from Netflix, with the company reporting a negative subscriber growth rate just once over its last 12 quarters. The ad-supported tiers were a big surprise to consumers initially given Netflix’s popularity for being ad-free, but the success of the implementation is notable.

A big crackdown on password sharing, though initially met with blowback among subscribers, has also unlocked many obvious benefits as the company looks to capture revenue from viewers who were potentially watching without an individual subscription.

As shown below, Netflix’s sales growth has remained rock-solid, posting double-digit percentage YoY growth in six consecutive periods.

Eaton Breaks Records

Eaton’s results were fantastic, with the company posting record Q1 adjusted EPS of $2.72 (up 13% YoY), record Q1 sales of $6.4 billion (up 7% YoY), and record segment margins of 23.9% (80 bp increase YoY). Further, organic sales growth totaled 9%, above the high end of previous guidance. ETN topped off the results by raising its organic revenue growth guidance for its current fiscal year.

Backlog growth within its Electrical segment improved 6% year-over-year, whereas its Aerospace backlog also enjoyed a 16% surge from the year-ago period. The company’s top line has shown solid, consistent growth, as shown below.

In addition to consistent sales growth, the company has shown a nice commitment to increasingly rewarding shareholders, sporting a 7% five-year annualized dividend growth rate. As shown in the annual chart below, ETN’s dividend growth has remained strong not just over the last five years, but over the last decade overall.

Please note that the final value in the chart below is tracked on a trailing twelve-month basis, as the company’s current fiscal year hasn’t ended yet.

Centene Raises Outlook

Adjusted EPS of $2.90 and sales of $46.6 billion from Centene blew away our consensus estimates, with earnings up a strong 28% year-over-year. Higher than expected membership growth led the company to up its 2025 premium and service revenues guidance by $6.0 billion, which already improved by a strong 17% YoY throughout the quarter.

As shown below, Centene’s sales have remained strong over recent periods, with the most recent period reflecting a notable acceleration. The company also maintained its current year EPS guidance, providing investors with a nice sense of stability in an anxious setting.

Analysts adjusted their current year sales expectations accordingly following the release and guidance upgrade, with Centene now expected to post $179.6 billion in revenues in its current fiscal year. The stock also sports a favorable Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Bottom Line

The 2025 Q1 earnings season is slowly grinding down, with the majority of S&P 500 companies already delivering their results. The period has been positive so far, with all three companies above – Netflix NFLX, Eaton ETN, and Centene CNC – posting robust results and either reaffirming or raising their guidance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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