Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are among the tech heavyweights featured in a packed week of earnings that investors will probe for indicators about the broader economy.
Other tech companies scheduled to report their latest quarterly reports include Google parent company Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Investors also will hear from airlines such as Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp., automotive companies General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., and energy giants Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp.
Nearly a third of the S&P 500, or 161 companies, are slated to report earnings in the coming week, according to FactSet. Twelve bellwethers from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, including Boeing Co. and McDonald’s Corp., are expected to report as well.
The flurry of results from a broad set of companies will give a sense of how businesses are faring as they deal with inflation denting consumer spending, ongoing supply-chain challenges and a stronger dollar.
One area holding up to the challenges has been travel. Several airline companies have reported that consumers still have an appetite to spend on trips and vacations. On Friday, American Express Co. raised its outlook for the year in part because of a surge in travel spending.
In addition to airlines reporting, companies such as car-rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and lodging companies Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. will offer reads into leisure spending.
Overall, earnings for the S&P 500 companies are on track to rise 1.5% this period compared with a year ago, while revenue is projected to grow 8.5%, FactSet said.
Other companies will serve as a gauge for how consumers have responded to higher prices and whether they have altered their spending as a result. Coca-Cola Co. and Kimberly-Clark Corp. on Tuesday and Kraft Heinz Co. on Wednesday will show how consumers are digesting higher prices. Mattel Inc., set to report on Tuesday, will highlight whether demand for toys remains resilient. Rival Hasbro Inc. issued a warning ahead of the holiday season.
United Parcel Service Inc. will release its results on Tuesday and provide an opportunity to show how it is faring ahead of the busy shipping season. The Atlanta-based carrier’s earnings come weeks after rival FedEx Corp. warned of a looming global recession and outlined plans to raise shipping rates across most of its services in January to contend with a global slowdown in business.
Results from credit-card companies Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. will offer insights into whether inflation has finally put a dent in consumer spending after both companies reported resilient numbers last quarter. (WSJ)
Even The Uber-Rich Are On Edge
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, two of the wealthiest people on the entire planet (who generally don’t agree on much of anything), are both signaling some tension about a looming recession.
Bezos earlier this week commented that it’s time to “batten down the hatches,” in a tweet that included a video of Goldman Sachs’ CEO saying there was a good chance of a recession on the horizon.
Musk, for his part, was a little more sanguine as he sought (unsuccessfully, in the end) to ease Wall Street’s concerns about Tesla’s growth prospects. On a call with analysts Wednesday night, Musk struck a confident tone, saying the company has “excellent” demand for the next quarter and that factories are running at full speed.
But he admitted demand was “a little harder” to come by, and noted that Europe and China are experiencing a “recession of sorts.” Musk also warned that Tesla would fall short of its sales growth target.
Shares fell 7% in early trading Thursday, even though Tesla reported near-record profit in the third quarter. Analysts and investors are increasingly worried about Tesla’s ability to sustain its growth in the face of logistical problems and rising inflation.
The comments from Musk and Bezos add to a chorus of powerful figures fretting that the economy is going to take a turn for the worse. Earlier this month, Jamie Dimon, the billionaire head of JPMorgan Chase, spooked the whole stock market by saying a recession could hit the US in as little as six to nine months. (CNN Business)
What's Up With Holiday Turkeys
The ongoing spread of bird flu will likely affect the price and availability of turkeys this Thanksgiving.
Right now the price per pound of an 8 to 16 pound turkey is $1.99, up from $1.15 last year, according to USDA data. This is a 73% increase.
Typically bird flu spreads during the colder months, but this year commercial turkey producers were reporting cases of avian flu in July — a time when farmers are raising flocks for the holiday season.
“It’s certainly occurring at a terrible time,” says Walter Kunisch, a senior commodities strategist at Hilltop Securities.
The virus is ‘more acute’ this year
The last avian flu outbreak was in 2015 and about 50 million birds were affected, according to USDA data.
Already this year, 47.6 million birds have been affected and the flu has been detected in 42 states.
To control the spread, growers must kill entire flocks, which usually contain about 15,000 birds. (CNBC)
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