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We are over halfway through the US earnings season. We have seen earnings decline at their sharpest rate in over two years, but the majority of companies have so far beaten expectations, according to FactSet.

This week, the US calendar will be headlined by Big data outfit Palantir, accommodation platform Airbnb, gaming firm Roblox, beverage giant Coca-Cola, tech outfit Cisco and semiconductor stock Applied Materials.

In the UK, we will see the banking industry kick off their earnings season with results out form Barclays and Standard Chartered. Other updates will be out from mining behemoth Glencore, homeware retailer Dunelm and price comparison website Moneysupermarket.

Elsewhere, we will have news out from Singaporean bank DBS Group, Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify, Australian gold miner Newcrest, National Australia Bank, cigarette firm Japan Tobacco, German engineering group Thyssenkrupp, European plane maker Airbus and French firms Ubisoft and Air France.

DBS Group (DBSDY)

Singaporean banks are performing much better than their Western rivals at present. For example, earnings continue to grow, having hit record levels in the last quarter, thanks to improved demand for loans, higher interest rates and trading gains while also bolstered by the release of reserves. That is proving enough to counter the tougher conditions being faced by its wealth management and investment banking divisions, with fees still under pressure as appetite for the likes of M&A, new financing and listings remains subdued. DBS Group is forecast to report earnings of SGD2.28 billion in the fourth quarter, up some 63% from last year. If achieved, annual earnings should be up 17% at SGD7.9 billion.

Barclays (BCS)

In the UK, Barclays will kick off the earnings season for banks. Net interest income, forecast to be up over 38% this quarter, is benefiting from improved margins, which could hit as high as 4%, thanks to higher interest rates. This is countering the collapse in fees it earns from handling fundraises and advising on corporate deals. Fixed-income trading will be a particularly bright spot in the quarter. Pretax profit is expected to fall 2.5% from last year in the fourth quarter to £1.4 billion thanks to rising costs. That puts the bank on course to report a 16% drop in annual profits to £7.0 billion. The outlook for 2023 will be influential. Costs will be a central focus and markets have high expectations considering they have pencilled in a 4% drop in expenses this year, partly funded by bonus cuts and a steep drop in litigation charges.

Standard Chartered (SCBFF)

Standard Chartered boasts a much lower net interest margin than its rivals but this is still improving thanks to rising interest rates and could hit 1.5% in the final quarter. This will heighten pressure to cut costs, which are forecast to rise some 3.5% in 2023. Its exposure to China’s real estate market and other countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka means risk is a factor and has led to a wide range of consensus numbers for its CET1 ratio this year of between 13% to 16%. Standard Chartered is forecast to report underlying pretax profit of $784.1 million in the fourth quarter, which would lead to a 24% rise in annual earnings to $4.8 billion.

Glencore (GLNCY)

Mining giant Glencore will report a jump in sales and record earnings when it reports this week as lower production of almost all commodities in 2022 is more than offset by higher prices. The miner is forecast to report a 33% rise in annual revenue to $279.98 billion in 2022 and adjusted Ebitda – its headline measure – is set to jump almost 60% to $34.1 billion. Earnings per share is forecast to leap to $1.54 from just $0.38 in 2021. With adjusted net debt at an all-time low, there is scope for shareholder returns to be topped-up through share buybacks. Coal remains a major differentiator for Glencore considering it is generating a large chunk of profits at a time when its rivals have little to no exposure.

Airbnb (ABNB)

Airbnb will lose some momentum after reporting its most profitable period ever in the last quarter, with bookings growth slowing down and supply growth also easing. Wall Street forecasts gross booking value will be up 20% from last year at $13.5 billion, with the number of bookings expected to climb 23% to 90.1 million. Revenue is expected to rise 21% to $1.86 billion with adjusted Ebitda set to jump 30% to $434.7 million. While impressive compared to last year, this will be markedly slower growth than we have seen in previous quarters. The outlook will be closely watched as fears grow over how demand will perform in a recession, although China’s reopening and a recovery in international demand could help improve prospects.

Roblox (RBLX)

Roblox is expected to have ended the quarter with 59.3 million daily active users, which would be up around 460,000 from the last quarter and almost 20% higher than the year before. User growth is slowing and that is significant considering this is what is driving higher bookings as the average amount it makes from each user remains under pressure despite a big improvement in engagement, particularly with older users. There is some hope that average revenue per user could start to improve again as it builds relationships with more brands and introduces its new 3D advertising services. Revenue is forecast to rise 8.8% from last year to $619.1 million while the loss per share should come in around $0.54.

Shopify (SHOP)

Shopify has said it is being disciplined with spending and, following the appointment of a new chief financial officer, has raised prices for the first time in years. Together, this could significantly improve profitability, which will be the main focus when it reports this week. Laying out a path to profitability would be welcomed, or at least signs that margins can significantly improve considering they are negative territory today. Revenue is forecast to rise 19.4% from last year to $1.6 billion, driven by a 22% lift in merchant solutions and an 9.5% increase in subscriptions. Amazon’s results showed third-party solutions grew much faster than expected, providing hope that the same will be true for Shopify. The adjusted operating loss is forecast to come in at $41.3 million, with an adjusted net loss of $0.02 per share.

Palantir (PLTR)

Questions remains over future demand in 2023 as companies and the public sector show signs of pulling back spending on IT and technology due to challenging economic environment. Wall Street forecasts revenue will rise 17% from last year to $505.1 million this quarter, with government work to outpace commercial sales. Its adjusted operating profit is expected to fall 36% to $79.8 million. Notably, markets believe it can deliver annual profits just ahead of its guidance. Wall Street thinks Palantir can grow revenue another 20% in 2023, although that would be the slowest growth on record. We could see Palantir sacrifice its margin if demand falters, but it will need to balance growth with profitability.

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