Markets
Costco and Salesforce profits, inflation, crypto: the markets this week
After a week during which the Nasdaq reached a new all-time high And Ether ETFs Received SEC ApprovalHighlights in the coming week include several earnings reports, new economic data – and potentially more crypto market action.
Nvidia’s profits stun the street and the stock soars
Oh, and most importantly, US markets will be closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Check the best Memorial Day weekend deals here.
Macroeconomic data expected this week
Consumer confidence has declined as inflation concerns persist. According to a statement released Friday by the University of Michigan, the consumer confidence index for May fell to 69.1 from 77.2 in April. On Tuesday, the university will release the results of its consumer confidence survey for the month of May.
The Commerce Department will release its GDP report on Thursday. Last month, growth was much weaker than expected. Additionally, on Friday, the investor will monitor the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, which measures the prices U.S. residents pay for goods and services.
Last month, the main measure of inflation rose more than expected. In March, the basic personal consumption expenditure price indexexcluding food and energy, rose 2.8% from a year ago, a similar increase to February but higher than expected.
Analysts confident in Costco report
Wholesale giant Costco will release its quarterly report on Thursday. Analysts expect earnings per share of $3.71 on average, up from the initial projection of $3.61 for the third quarter of 2024. Its competitiveness with e-commerce giant Amazon will also attract attention. During the most recent quarter, Costco’s online sales increased 18.4% compared to the previous year. Costco’s membership base will also be an important factor in determining the company’s growth.
Salesforce earnings report expected
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 he later decided not to. The acquisition of Informatica, which would have been Salesforce’s largest acquisition since the acquisition of Slack in 2021, could have been valued at around $10 billion.
On average, analysts estimate earnings per share for the quarter at $1.82, compared to reported EPS of $1.15 for the same quarter last year. Additionally, investors would like to know how the software company is integrating AI – which is in high demand these days – and how it will generate revenue.
Other income to watch
On top of that, computer company HP will release its quarterly report on Wednesday, while BestBuy and Dollar General will release theirs on Thursday.
There could be action in the crypto market
With Ether ETFs approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the crypto market could soon see action. It is ironic that the the market became volatile before the benchmark decision but did not respond subsequently.
Last week, Bitcoin reached over $70,000 and Ether rose over 20% in one day before slowing down. However, there is hope that the crypto market will increase. Some expect Ether to rise by around $6,000 with a 60% increase in its price.