US UPDATES OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS

Quarterly Results

17 February: Deere & Company, Daimler, CenterPoint Energy

20 February: Nordson

From chips shortage to a supply glut, things have changed rapidly in the semiconductors space in recent months and investors will be watching how this may have impacted Nvidia’s (NVDA: NASDAQ) earnings when it reports on 22 February.

Consensus already anticipates a 21% year-on-year decline for sales to $6 billion and 38% drop in earnings per share at $0.81 respectively. Yet its share price has surged 50% so far this year as investors have been flocking to stocks that were heavily sold off in 2022. This share price momentum could run out of steam if Nvidia delivers a downbeat outlook statement. [IC]

Home Depot and Walmart

The two US companies should provide insight into consumer confidence

Next week will hopefully give us an idea of how positive middle America is feeling about life as we get reports from two of the country’s most iconic retailers.

DIY chain Home Depot (HD:NYSE) posts its latest results on 21 February, with analysts forecasting earnings per share of $3.27 for the fourth quarter against $3.21 previously and $16.63 for the full year.

However, the firm’s 93-year-old, billionaire founder Bernie Marcus has hardly endeared himself to younger customers, claiming ‘nobody works any more’ and ‘woke people have taken over the world’.

The same day, the world’s biggest retailer Walmart (WMT:NYSE) is expected to post earnings per share of $1.51 for the fourth quarter and $6.09 for the year, a drop of 5% on the previous year. [IC]

21 February: Home Depot, Molson Coors Brewing, Palo Alto Networks, Walmart

22 February:

NVIDIA, Ebay, Etsy, Bath & Body Works

23 February: American Tower, Cheniere Energy Partners, EOG Resources, Keurig Dr Pepper, MercadoLibre, Moderna, NetEase, Warner Bros Discovery