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Earnings Calendar: May 15 – 19

US markets turn their attention to retailers this week as traders evaluate how consumer spending is faring when Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Home Depot (HD), TJX, and Ross Stores (ROST) report earnings in the same week that we have US retail sales data out. In other sectors, keep an eye out for results from tech firm Cisco (CSCO), semiconductor stock Applied Materials (AMAT), and agricultural equipment maker Deere & Co (DE).

Asian stocks with US listings will also be under the spotlight with Chinese giants Alibaba (BABA) and Tencent (TCEHY), as well as search engine Baidu (BIDU), pencilled-in. We will also have updates from Singaporean outfit Sea and Southeast Asia’s Grab.

The UK calendar is busy, headlined by results out from low cost airline easyJet, luxury goods maker Burberry, baker Greggs, online clothing retailer Boohoo, and telecoms giants BT Group and Vodafone. Software firm Sage, credit outfit Experian, drinks maker Britvic, real estate investor LandSec, food manufacturer Premier Foods, and the National Grid are also scheduled to release results.

Below is a calendar with all the top earnings to keep an eye on over the coming week:

Walmart stock: Q1 earnings preview

US same store sales are expected to be up 5%, driven by its grocery arm that has attracted cost-conscious shoppers amid subdued demand for general merchandise. Still, this will mark the third consecutive quarter of slower growth and this trend is forecast to continue going forward. Revenue is forecast to rise 4.9% to $148.46 billion but adjusted EPS is expected to increase by a tepid 0.4% to $1.30 as topline gains are eaten up by rising costs. Both those figures are at the top-end of Walmart’s guidance range, providing scope for results to come in soft unless it can beat its own targets. Plus, the outlook for the full year implies growth will slow further this year and earnings will come under pressure, partly as Walmart is expected to slash prices at the expense of profitability as inflationary pressures ease in order to retain its value proposition that has served it well in recent years. That may heighten expectations on other higher-margin divisions such as advertising and encourage Walmart to cut costs further. In terms of guidance for the current quarter, Wall Street is looking for Walmart to target a 3.4% rise in sales and adjusted EPS of $1.70.

Target stock: Q1 earnings preview

Target, which continues to underperform its larger rival Walmart, provided a wide guidance range for the first quarter considering the uncertain outlook, providing scope for a positive or negative surprise when it releases results. Target said we could see a low-single digit increase or decrease in comparable sales but analysts are optimistic and are expecting a 1.2% increase, with total sales forecast to rise 1.7% to $25.2 billion. That is still slower than Walmart, partly because its rival has a larger food offering while Target leans more toward general merchandise. However, adjusted EPS is expected to plunge for a fifth consecutive quarter, this time by 17.5% to $1.81 as costs continue to out revenue. Still, that is at the higher-end of what was another broad target guidance range of $1.50 to $1.90. It is also spending billions on improving the shopping experience this year, eating up cash with benefits to take time to feed through. Target’s longer-term ambition is to restore its operating margin back above its pre-pandemic levels of 6% within the next three years, having said it could achieve this as early as fiscal 2024. Any delay would signal a slower recovery in consumer demand, and could push Target to make more drastic cost cuts in order to avoid disappointing the markets.

Alibaba stock: FY earnings preview

Alibaba announced earlier this year that it plans to break itself up into six separate businesses, most of which will be spun-off through their own initial public offerings, in the hope each division will have more success raising their own capital and earning their own valuations. That will heighten the focus on each individual part of Alibaba, which will be left with stakes in the spin-offs and focused on its core Taobao Tmall commerce platform. For the fourth quarter, Alibaba is expected to report a 2.5% rise in revenue to RMB209,189 million and a much stronger 18.8% rise in adjusted EPS to RMB9.45, although this will largely be down to strong interest income and a reversal in amortisation. Topline growth may be tepid but markets expect every division to grow, apart from a tepid dip in its media and entertainment arm, led by strong double-digit growth from Cainiao Logistics, local consumer services and international commerce. Its largest operations around ecommerce in China (+1.4%) and cloud computing (+7%) are expected to grow at a much slower pace. Alibaba has sharpened its focus on costs, including reducing losses from overseas commerce and improving efficiency from its core operations, and is positioned well to benefit from any recovery as the Chinese economy reopens. That is key as profits need to prioritised if Alibaba is to successfully spin-off individual units. If it meets expectations in the period, then Alibaba is on course to report a 2.1% rise in annual revenue to RMB870,889 million and a 0.9% rise in full year adjusted EPS to RMB53.18.

Tencent stock: Q1 earnings preview

This could be a big week for Tencent considering markets think many of its businesses will get back on track as its heightened attention on costs pay off. Analysts forecast Tencent will report a 7.5% year-on-year rise in revenue in the first quarter to RMB145.6 billion and diluted EPS is expected to jump almost 30% to RMB3.40. That would represent the fastest topline expansion in over a year as its value-added services, fintech, gaming and social networks units return to growth while advertising accelerates. Plus, that puts Tencent on course to report its strongest bottom-line growth seen in 11 quarters as costs are set to fall for a third consecutive quarter and plunge 10%. Still, the outlook for areas like gaming and cloud computing remains shaky but its other units are forecast to stay on track. The outlook for later this year remains threatened given the macroeconomic picture. Its ability to keep reducing costs could also be countered by the need to invest heavily in AI and to rebuild its performance in gaming.

easyJet share price: H1 earnings preview

Low-cost airline easyJet remains in the red and its primary job is becoming profitable once again as it tries to fully recover from the pandemic. Passenger numbers have continued to grow at an impressive rate, higher prices are boosting the topline, better cost management is yielding results, and easyJet holidays is delivering (albeit small) profits. Still, the airline is expected to report a headline loss before tax of £412 million in the first half of the financial year, according to estimates from Refinitiv, narrower than the £545 million loss seen the year before. easyJet said it expected to beat full year expectations back in January, but the key question remains when it will escape the red and what the extent of the threat is posed by a potential economic downturn, as well as strike action. Currently, markets are convinced easyJet will celebrate a much better second half and deliver enough profits to deliver a sizeable full year profit. Any delay on this front would be negative and could heighten the need to be even more disciplined with costs. Reports from other travel firms points toward favourable conditions for summer bookings.

BT Group share price: FY earnings preview

A lot is pinned on the performance in the final few months of the financial year considering BT Group has said cashflow and profits will be heavily weighted to the fourth quarter as capex requirements fall and receivables collections increase. BT Group is forecast to deliver a 1.5% decline in annual revenue to £20.5 billion, solely because of weaker demand from enterprise customers. Price increases, linked to CPI, are helping shield it from inflationary pressures but is resulting in sizeable hikes to prices on cost-conscious customers. Profits should fare better considering adjusted Ebitda is expected to rise 3.9% to £7.9 billion (at the bottom-end of its guidance range), aided by improved profits from its consumer arm and Openreach. Reported pretax profit at the bottom-line is seen rising over 18% to £2.3 billion. That demonstrates how important the final quarter is considering pretax profit was down 15% in the first nine months of the year. Importantly, BT has announced plans to merger its enterprise and global divisions to create a new department named BT Business. The pension deficit could also be in play considering the next triennial funding valuation is pencilled-in for June.

Vodafone share price: FY earnings preview

New CEO Margherita della Valle will outline her vision for Vodafone when it releases results this week, with plenty of potential surprises. We know Vodafone is holding discussions about merging its UK business with that of Three and there is a job to do in Europe. We could see more aggressive cost cutting plans announced, especially if it is to maintain its dividend. The company is forecast to report a tepid 0.1% rise in annual revenue to EUR45.6 billion as challenging conditions in Europe continue to counter growth in the UK. Adjusted Ebitdaal, a core metric, is expected to decline 3.2% to EUR14.7 billion thanks to tighter margins but reported profit is forecast to rise 10% to EUR2.9 billion thanks to much higher income from associates and joint ventures. The outlook, which analysts hope will be aided by price hikes and cost savings, is expected to target adjusted Ebitdaal of EUR13.7 billion in the current financial year, which would not inspire too much confidence given this will be an even sharper decline – however, this will be reliant on the new CEO’s plan and could surprise.

Burberry share price: FY earnings preview

Analysts forecast Burberry will report a 5.6% rise in comparable store sales and a 9.5% increase in annual revenue to £3.09 billion. Adjusted operating profit – its headline measure – is seen jumping over 18% to £618.2 million as cost pressures ease and margins improve. That is impressive considering comparatives are strong from the year before and shows the resilience of the luxury goods market. The performance in the final quarter will set the tone for the new financial year, when prospects in China as it reopens after abandoning Covid-19 restrictions will be highly influential. Its ability to keep hiking prices and keep inventory levels healthy will go a long way in showing how its brand strength is holding up, which is key as results out from other luxury goods stocks has varied recently. This will be the first set of proper results since Kate Ferry took over as CFO and Klaus Bierbrauer became responsible for managing Burberry’s supply chain. Keep an eye on how the outlook compares to expectations, with markets forecasting a 7.7% rise in annual revenue in the current financial year and a 8.8% rise in adjusted operating profit.

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