In this article, we discuss the 5 latest earnings that surprised Wall Street. If you want to see more such earnings reports on the list, go directly to 10 Latest Earnings That Surprised Wall Street. 

5. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) handily surpassed profit expectations for the third quarter. The biopharmaceutical company earned $4.70 per share on an adjusted basis, up from $4.08 per share in the year-ago period and above estimates of $4.42 per share.

Revenue for the quarter inched down 1 percent versus last year to $6.65 billion but exceeded the consensus of $6.56 billion. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) blamed currency headwinds for hurting its sales.

For the full year, Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) narrowed its adjusted earnings outlook to a range of $17.25 – $17.85 per share, from its previous projection between $17 – $18 per share.

4. Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66

Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) recently delivered an impressive financial performance for the third quarter and raised its profit outlook for the full year. The company attributed the results to solid contributions from its Evernorth and Cigna Healthcare segments.

The health service giant earned $6.04 per share on an adjusted basis, crushing expectations of $5.71 per share. In addition, Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) posted revenue of $45.3 billion, up 2.4 percent versus last year and above estimates of $44.76 billion.

Looking forward, Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) now expects adjusted earnings of at least $23.10 per share for the full year, versus its previous earnings guidance of at least $22.90 per share. The updated forecast is better than the consensus of $23 per share.

Earlier this year, investment management firm Aristotle Capital Management briefly discussed Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) in its second-quarter 2022 investor letter. Here’s what the firm said:

“Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) contributed to performance in the second quarter, outpacing the benchmark Health Care sector return. We believe Cigna benefited from investors seeking relative “safety” in the managed care sector and the stock’s attractive valuation at just over 10 times next year’s earnings. During the quarter, Cigna reported an earnings beat due to a better-than-expected medical loss ratio.”

3. Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 69

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) announced better-than-expected financial results for the third quarter, as the health insurer took advantage of lower medical costs. The company reported adjusted earnings of $6.88 per share, significantly higher than $4.83 per share in the year-ago period and above estimates of $6.28 per share.

Revenue for the quarter increased to $22.75 billion, from $20.69 billion in the corresponding period of 2021. Analysts expected Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) to generate revenue of $22.69 billion.

For the full year, Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) projected adjusted earnings of around $25 per share, representing a growth of 21 percent over fiscal 2021.

Commenting on the quarter, CEO Bruce D. Broussard said:

“We are pleased with our third quarter results and the strong performance across all of our businesses. “Humana is well positioned for the 2023 Medicare Advantage Annual Election Period, with plans designed to meet customers’ affordability and healthcare needs, especially important given the current economic conditions and knowing many seniors are on fixed incomes.”

2. Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) rallied over 10 percent on Friday morning as investors cheered the company’s solid results for the third quarter. The digital payments giant reported adjusted earnings of 42 cents per share, beating the estimates of 23 cents per share with a big margin.

Revenue for the quarter rose 17 percent on a year-over-year basis to $4.52 billion, while analysts expected Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) to post revenue of $4.50 billion. Excluding Bitcoin revenue, total sales climbed 36 percent over the year-ago period.

Discussing the results, Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) said in a statement:

“We delivered strong growth at scale during the third quarter of 2022. Gross profit grew 38% year over year to $1.57 billion, up 46% on a three-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) basis. Excluding our BNPL platform, gross profit was $1.42 billion, up 25% year over year and 42% on a three-year CAGR basis.”

1. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 93

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) recently posted impressive financial results for the third quarter. The travel technology company reported adjusted earnings of $53.03 per share, representing a massive jump of 41 percent over the same period last year.

In addition, Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) generated revenue of $6.1 billion, up 29 percent on a year-over-year basis and well ahead of the consensus of $5.92 billion. Gross travel bookings for the quarter also climbed 36 percent to $32.1 billion, beating expectations of $30.48 billion.

Separately, Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) also appeared in the third-quarter 2022 investor letter of investment management firm RiverPark Funds. Here’s what the firm said:

“We also bought back a small position in Booking Holdings during the quarter. Booking is the world’s leader in online travel, operating in 200 countries with brands including Booking.com, priceline.com, agoda.com, Kayak, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. The company has been a dominant on-line travel agency for more than a decade with a high margin business model (40% EBITDA margin for 2019 and 28% for 2021) that requires limited capital expenditures, typically less than 3% of revenue, producing $4.5 billion free cash flow for 2019 and $2.5 billion for 2021 (due to the vast COVID disruption). The company has used its free cash flow for episodic acquisitions as well as to return cash to shareholders. BKNG is well positioned in travel as the largest player in online lodging bookings and the second largest player in alternative accommodations. Like all travel companies, Booking was hit hard by the pandemic, but with its high international exposure, we expect the company’s recovery to be equally strong as travel returns.”

You can also take a peek at 11 Best Day Trading Stocks To Buy and 12 Best Consumer Staple Stocks.  

Follow Insider Monkey on Twitter