With most of the earnings reports behind us, next week will focus on retailers and their consumer demand forecasts as the US economy reopens rapidly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The next week will be filled with revenue releases from some of the largest US retailers amid a slowdown in sales following buoyant activity over the past year. The Department of Commerce said on Friday that these were unchanged in the month of April, with a pressure of 0.00% after an increase of 10.7% in March.
Walmart, Costco (NASDAQ 🙂 and Trader Joe's all said last week that they are eliminating mask requirements for vaccinated customers in response to the latest CDC guidelines, which indicate normal times are returning.
Below we've shortlisted three stocks that might see some trading action after reporting their quarterly figures:
1. Walmart
America & # 39; s largest retailer, Walmart (NYSE :), will report its fiscal 2022, first quarter results on Tuesday, May 18, before the market opens. Consensus expects earnings per share of $ 1.21 on revenues of $ 132 billion.
Walmart was a net beneficiary during the pandemic because customers stayed at home, stocked up on groceries and consumed more daily staples. However, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer warned investors in February that it is expecting a year and a profit as life in the US gradually returns to normal after the country's massive vaccination push.
According to the retail giant, earnings per share will decline slightly in the current fiscal year, while US comparable store sales remain in positive territory. As the impact of the pandemic gradually diminishes, the performance of the WMT stock has remained largely flat this year. The stock closed at $ 139.52 on Friday
2. Home Depot
Home improvement giant Home Depot (NYSE 🙂 will also increase its earnings on the first Tuesday before the market opens. quarter of 2021. Analysts expect a $ 3.08 share of earnings on revenue of $ 34.75 billion.
HD also benefited from lockdowns because people trapped in their homes spent more money renovating homes and setting up home offices. That trend may have continued through the first quarter, as rising home prices and low interest rates encouraged homeowners to spend more on remodeling.
The Atlanta-based retailer said in February that demand for home improvement projects is still strong even a year after COVID-19, but customer trends from the later part of 2020 indicate that this may be slowing down somewhat. Still, same-store sales in the US, a key measure of store performance, were up 25% in the quarter ended January 31.
The stock, which closed at $ 323.63 Friday, is up 20% this year. , significantly better than the benchmark.
3. Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ 🙂 will report its earnings for fiscal year 2021, third quarter, on Wednesday, May 19, after the close of clock. Analysts expect the network technology giant to report earnings per share of $ 0.82 on revenue of $ 12.57 billion.
The San Jose-based communications technology giant is the world's largest manufacturer of routers, switches, and other equipment that businesses use to connect computers. hardware to a software-driven model in new, fast-growing areas of the market, such as cybersecurity, applications and services.
Goldman Sachs upgraded its stock in March, saying in a note that a return to offices would lead to better IT spending overall, with Cisco also seeing the tailwind with a replacement cycle for older technology . Cisco stock, after gaining 18% this year, closed at $ 52.90 on Friday.
