Software company Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) is striving to become one of the largest software companies in the world with its variety of products. Autodesk targets niche consumers with products designed for architecture, animation, engineering, construction, education, entertainment and much more.  Autodesk stock is currently up 41% year-to-date, more than doubling since hitting its two-year low of $125.38 on March 18. And while the shares are off their Nov. 9 record high of $276.68, their 30-day moving average has stepped up as support.

Autodesk reported earnings after the closing bel yesterday, and has beat earnings expectations on all four of its most recent quarterly reports.  In the third quarter of 2019, Autodesk beat earnings expectations by $0.06.  In the fourth quarter of 2019, Autodesk  beat expectations by a margin of $0.03. The company dropped its reported EPS for ADSK to $0.85 in the first quarter of 2020, but still managed to beat earnings expectations by $0.05. Most recently, Autodesk reported an increase in earnings for the second quarter of 2020, beating its earnings target by 9%. The company reported an EPS of $0.98 instead of the expected EPS of $0.90. For its upcoming third-quarter earnings report tonight, Autodesk's adjusted fiscal third-quarter earnings of $1.04 topped its 96 cent estimate. As a result, ADSK is higher in pre-market trading this morning.

Autodesk reached profitability recently, which has caused a massive spike in its stock. However, Autodesk stock had already been on a significant bullish run since 2016. This run can partially be attributed to the company’s various endeavors finally producing some revenue and net income growth. However, its massive price-earnings ratio of 157.92 of would suggest the company still has long ways to go. Nonetheless, Autodesk has serious ambition which explains the type of excitement it has received thus far from investors.

Furthermore, Autodesk can be expected to bring its price-earnings ratio down as it ramps up its revenue and net income. The company's current forward price-earnings ratio is 48.31. In addition, Autodesk holds $1.52 billion in cash and only carries $2.08 in total debt, which is impressive for a growth company like Autodesk.

Overall, it is unlikely that we will see Autodesk stock trading at a lower price five years from now, regardless of whether it achieves all its big ambitions or not, from a fundamental perspective. On the flip side, Autodesk stock’s potential upside is massive if the company can execute. 

Yesterday was a historic day for the Dow, as the index surpassed the 30,000 level for the first time ever. The primary catalysts for the record-breaking event was the latest round of positive vaccine news, strengthening investor sentiment surrounding a speedy economic recovery, as well as the Trump administration's approval to begin the transition process for President-elect Joe Biden. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 30,046.24) tacked on 455 points yesterday. The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,635.41) rose 57.8 points  for the day on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 12,036.79) gained 156.2 points for the day yesterday. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 21.64) fell 1 point, or 4.5% for the day.

Today is an incredibly busy day for investors. Initial and continuing jobless claims data is slated to be released. Meanwhile, durable goods and core capital goods orders data are on tap, as well, while new home sales will be reported later on. Rounding out the day, personal income, consumer spending, core inflation, and the consumer sentiment index data are all due out. Investors will unpack the Case-Shiller national home price index, as well as the consumer confidence index.  We will also see a handful of earnings today including Deere (DE) before the market opens for the day ahead of the holiday tomorrow.

For your convenience, we have rounded up the schedule of companies slated to release earnings today, November 25:

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE -- $261.51) manufactures and distributes various equipment worldwide. Deere will report its fourth-quarter earnings before the bell today.

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO -- $7.40) engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and oil products worldwide. FRO is current down by 5.2% year-to-date. Frontline will report its fourth-quarter earnings before the bell today.

Here’s a quick recap of how yesterday’s earning reports played out compared to expectations:

Abercrombie & Fitch, Co. (NYSE:ANF -- $22.69) operates as a specialty retailer. Earnings per share rose 230.43% over the past year to $0.76, which beat the estimate of ($0.04). Revenue of $819,653,000 declined by 5.07% year over year, which beat the estimate of $739,360,000.

American Woodmark, Co. (NASDAQ:AMWD -- $104.70) manufactures and distributes kitchen cabinets and vanities. Earnings per share rose 7.07% year over year to $1.97, which beat the estimate of $1.88. Revenue of $448,583,000 up by 4.81% year over year, which missed the estimate of $451,680,000.

Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI -- $137.07) designs, manufactures, and markets integrated circuits (ICs), algorithms, software, and subsystems. Earnings per share increased 21.01% over the past year to $1.44, which beat the estimate of $1.32. Revenue of $1,526,000,000 rose by 5.75% from the same period last year, which beat the estimate of $1,440,000,000.

Anaplan, Inc. (NYSE:PLAN -- $62.25) provides a cloud-based connected planning platform. Earnings per share were up 37.50% year over year to ($0.05), which beat the estimate of ($0.10). Revenue of $114,875,000 higher by 28.48% year over year, which beat the estimate of $109,560,000.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY -- $122.04) retails technology products in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Earnings per share rose 82.30% over the past year to $2.06, which beat the estimate of $1.70. Revenue of $11,853,000,000 higher by 21.39% from the same period last year, which beat the estimate of $11,000,000,000.

Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL -- $230.00) operates as a retailer of branded apparel products. Earnings per share decreased 81.29% year over year to $0.29, which beat the estimate of $0.16. Revenue of $1,667,000,000 declined by 6.45% year over year, which beat the estimate of $1,530,000,000.

Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE:CHS -- $1.77) operates as an omnichannel specialty retailer of women's private branded casual-to-dressy clothing, intimates, and complementary accessories. Earnings per share decreased 950.00% year over year to ($0.42), which missed the estimate of ($0.15). Revenue of $351,416,000 declined by 27.50% year over year, which missed the estimate of $374,970,000.

Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS -- $58.81) operates as a sporting goods retailer. Earnings per share rose 286.54% over the past year to $2.01, which beat the estimate of $1.01. Revenue of $2,412,000,000 up by 22.94% year over year, which beat the estimate of $2,230,000,000.

Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR -- $97.61) operates discount variety retail stores. Earnings per share were up 28.70% year over year to $1.39, which beat the estimate of $1.15. Revenue of $6,177,000,000 up by 7.50% from the same period last year, which beat the estimate of $6,120,000,000.

Dycom Industries, Inc. (NYSE:DY -- $78.23) provides specialty contracting services. Earnings per share were up 20.45% year over year to $1.06, which beat the estimate of $1.05. Revenue of $810,256,000 declined by 8.35% from the same period last year, which missed the estimate of $817,690,000.

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL -- $50.03) produces and markets various meat and food products. Earnings per share fell 8.51% year over year to $0.43, which missed the estimate of $0.44. Revenue of $2,420,000,000 decreased by 3.28% year over year, which missed the estimate of $2,590,000,000.

The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM -- $116.05) manufactures and markets food and beverage products worldwide. Earnings per share rose 5.75% year over year to $2.39, which beat the estimate of $2.23. Revenue of $2,034,000,000 up by 3.88% year over year, which beat the estimate of $2,010,000,000.

LexinFintech Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:LX -- $8.30) operates as an online consumer finance platform for young professionals in the People's Republic of China. Earnings per share were down 40.74% year over year to $0.32, which beat the estimate of $0.27. Revenue of $464,539,000 rose by 4.15% from the same period last year, which missed the estimate of $473,450,000.

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT -- $110.97) develops, manufactures, distributes, and sells device-based medical therapies. Earnings per share were down 22.14% over the past year to $1.02, which beat the estimate of $0.80. Revenue of $7,647,000,000 decreased by 0.77% from the same period last year, which beat the estimate of $7,100,000,000.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF -- $131.48) designs, manufactures, and retails jewelry and other items. Earnings per share increased 70.77% year over year to $1.11, which beat the estimate of $0.66. Revenue of $1,008,000,000 decreased by 0.69% from the same period last year, which beat the estimate of $980,710,000.

Titan Machinery, Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN -- $18.98) owns and operates a network of full-service agricultural and construction equipment stores. Earnings per share increased 31.82% year over year to $0.58, which beat the estimate of $0.35. Revenue of $360,872,000 declined by 0.02% year over year, which beat the estimate of $329,340,000.

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO -- $18.18) operates as a specialty retailer that provides clothing, accessories, and personal care products. Earnings per share fell 27.08% year over year to $0.35, which beat the estimate of $0.34. Revenue of $1,032,000,000 decreased by 3.19% from the same period last year, which beat the estimate of $1,030,000,000.

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK -- $257.25) operates as a software design and services company worldwide. Earnings per share were up 33.33% year over year to $1.04, which beat the estimate of $0.96. Revenue of $952,400,000 rose by 13.02% year over year, which beat the estimate of $942,240,000.

Dell Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:DELL -- $69.38) designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and support IT hardware, software, and services solutions worldwide. Earnings per share were up 16.00% year over year to $2.03, which beat the estimate of $1.40. Revenue of $23,521,000,000 rose by 2.59% from the same period last year, which beat the estimate of $21,850,000,000.

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS -- $26.06) operates as an apparel retail company worldwide. Earnings per share were down 52.83% year over year to $0.25, which missed the estimate of $0.32. Revenue of $3,994,000,000 declined by 0.10% year over year, which beat the estimate of $3,820,000,000.

HP, Inc. (NYSE:HPQ -- $21.19) provides personal computing and other access devices, imaging and printing products, and related technologies, solutions, and services. Earnings per share were down 294.74% over the past year to ($0.74), which beat the estimate of ($0.80). Revenue of $208,267,000 decreased by 67.91% from the same period last year, which beat the estimate of $201,980,000.

Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN -- $23.44) provides apparels, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, young adults, and children. Earnings per share decreased 72.84% year over year to $0.22, which beat the estimate of ($0.06). Revenue of $3,089,000,000 decreased by 20.22% year over year, which missed the estimate of $3,100,000,000.

VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW -- $148.94) provides software in the areas of hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, modern applications, networking and security, and digital workspaces. Earnings per share increased 11.41% over the past year to $1.66, which beat the estimate of $1.43. Revenue of $2,864,000,000 higher by 16.61% year over year, which beat the estimate of $2,810,000,000.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, the market will be closed for the day in observance of Thanksgiving, and closed for a half-day on Friday (open from 9:30 a.m. ET until 1:00 p.m. ET). There are no further earnings reports due out this week after the market opens today, and there will be no major economic data released during the half-day trading session on Friday.

Department store retailer Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE: BURL) is the third largest off-price retailer in the U.S., following TJX Companies (TJX) and Ross Stores (ROST). Burlington is slated to report earnings tomorrow, and will be looking to bounce back into profitability after two unprofitable quarterly reports. Despite the major volatility BURL has seen this year, the stock is only 8.4% off of its record of $250.89.

With earnings slated to be released tomorrow, let's take a moment to review previous earnings reports. Burlington Stores has beat expectations on three of its four most recent quarterly earnings reports. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Burlington Stores beat expectations by $0.15. In the company's fiscal first quarter of 2020, the company beat expectations by a margin of $0.02. Burlington Stores missed expectations by a large margin of $3.21 in the fiscal second quarter. In its most recent quarter, Burlington Stores beat its earnings target by $0.48, with a loss -$0.56 instead of the expected dip of -$1.04. As for Burlington Stores' upcoming earnings report, the company is expected to report an increase its EPS up to $0.16.

Before 2020, Burlington Stores was growing revenue by approximately $600 million on an annual basis. Burlington Stores had more than doubled its net income since 2017 heading into 2020. All signs had pointed towards continued growth for many years. Unfortunately, Burlington Stores was faced with the coronavirus pandemic this year and experienced the whack down that most brick-and-mortar companies experienced during the shutdowns.

Amazingly, BURL has recovered despite the fact that the company is looking to end the year on an unprofitable note. Positive sentiment surrounding Burlington Stores recovering its revenue and net profit growth is what is driving BURL stock’s pricing at the moment. However, investors should note that Burlington Stores carries nearly $5 billion in debt when considering the investment. BURL also currently sports a high forward price-earnings ratio of 32.47

Overall, Burlington Stores is will likely resume its growth pattern and eventually start producing new highs following the coronavirus pandemic. The purchase of BURL stock undoubtedly comes with risk for investors, but also has significant potential upside over the next 4-5 years for investors with patience.

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ), formerly known as Hewlett-Packard Company, dates back to 1939 and is currently the second largest PC vendor in the world. HPQ is currently trading up just 2.5% year-to-date in 2020, but 69% from its 52-week low of $12.54. As the stock contends with that year-to-date breakeven level, it has support from its 100-day moving average, which caught a pullback last month.

HPQ currently sports a ranking of 16 out of 100 on the Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS). Using Schaeffer's historical database, we conduct proprietary research on each underlying equity and determined which of those underlying equities’ options have historically had underpriced or overpriced options. We rank each equity’s options relative to the others in our database, with scores ranging from zero to 100. Low SVS readings like this one point to the stock having consistently realized lower volatility than their options have priced in -- pointing to possible premium-selling candidates. 

Today --after the close -- is HP's day in the earnings confessional. HP is looking to continue its impressive earnings-beat streak when it reports today. Earnings reports on HPQ have beat expectations on all four of its most recent quarterly reports.  In the fourth quarter of 2019, HP beat expectations by $0.02. In the first quarter of 2020, the company beat expectations by a margin of $0.11. HP still managed to beat expectations by $0.07 in the second quarter 2020. In HP's most recent quarterly report, HP beat its earnings target by 14%.  As for tonight's earnings report, HP is expected to increase in EPS to $0.52.

HPQ has a forward dividend of $0.70 and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The company last paid a dividend of $0.1762 for Q4 2020. HP has paid dividends regularly since 1989.

HP stock is, frankly, a mixed bag for value investors. The company has performed fairly well in terms of its revenue over the past few years, but HP has not been able to produce consistent growth in profits. Nonetheless, the coronavirus pandemic has lightly impacted the company’s massive revenue, which leaves room for the company to see some decent growth from a recovery. 

Furthermore, HPQ sports a price-earnings ratio of 12.00 and a forward price-earnings ratio of 8.69. If the company is able to recover its net income to previously recorded levels, HP will be looking at an extremely attractive valuation from a fundamental perspective. HP’s biggest downfall and risk factor for investors lies in its balance sheet. The company’s liabilities are slightly more than its current assets. HP also carries $7.42 billion in debt and only $4.68 billion in cash.

Overall the company’s strong ongoing revenue and future net profit potential should outweigh its poor balance sheet, from a fundamental perspective. As HP recovers and begins to see more demand for the 3D printer side of its business, HP stock has the potential to reach new highs within the next few years.