Markets
Costco and Salesforce Earnings, Inflation, Crypto: The Markets This Week
After a week in which the Nasdaq reached a new all-time high It is Ether ETFs Received SEC ApprovalNext week’s highlights include several earnings reports, new economic data – and potentially some more action in the crypto market.
Nvidia Earnings Surprise the Street and Stocks Are Rising
Oh, and most importantly, US markets will be closed on Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday. Check it out the best Memorial Day weekend deals here.
Macroeconomic data expected this week
Consumer sentiment has eased as inflation concerns persist. According to a Friday release from the University of Michigan, the consumer sentiment index for May fell to 69.1 from 77.2 in April. On Tuesday, the university will publish the results of the consumer confidence survey for May.
The Commerce Department will release its GDP report on Thursday. Last month, growth was much weaker than expected. Additionally, on Friday, investors will pay close attention to the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index, which measures the prices US residents pay for goods and services.
Last month, the main measure of inflation rose more than expected. In March, the main personal consumption expenditure price indexExcluding food and energy, it increased by 2.8% year-on-year, a similar increase to February but higher than expected.
Analysts are confident in Costco report
Wholesale giant Costco will release its quarterly report on Thursday. Analysts expect earnings per share of $3.71 on average, above the initial projection of $3.61 for the third quarter of 2024. Its competitiveness with e-commerce giant Amazon will also draw attention. Last quarter, Costco’s e-commerce sales grew 18.4% year-over-year. Costco’s membership base will also be a major factor in determining the company’s growth.
Salesforce Earnings Report Expected to Arrive
On Wednesday, Salesforce, a cloud-based software company, will release its quarterly report. The company made headlines when it initially announced plans to acquire data management software maker Informatica but later decided against it. The Informatica acquisition, which would have been Salesforce’s biggest acquisition since it bought Slack in 2021, it could have been valued at around $10 billion.
On average, analysts estimate EPS for the quarter to be $1.82, compared to reported EPS of $1.15 in the same quarter last year. Furthermore, investors would like to know how the software company is incorporating AI – which is on the rise these days – and how this will generate revenue.
Other Earnings to Watch
Additionally, IT company HP will release its quarterly report on Wednesday, while BestBuy and Dollar General will release theirs on Thursday.
There could be some action in the crypto market
With Ether ETFs approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the crypto market could see some action soon. It is ironic that the the market became volatile before the milestone decision, but did not respond afterwards.
In the last week, Bitcoin reached more than $70,000 and Ether rose more than 20% in one day before slowing down. Still, there is hope that the crypto market will rise, with some expecting Ether to rise to around $6,000 with a 60% increase in its price.